The Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Bill 2024

Context

Recently the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG) introduced a Bill in Parliament to amend the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Act, 1948.

About

• The Bill amends the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Act, 1948. 
• The Act regulates the exploration and extraction of natural gas and petroleum.

Key features of the Bill

• • Definition of mineral oils accelerated:  The Act defines mineral oils to include petroleum and natural gas.  It will not encompass coal, lignite or helium. The Bill expands the definition to consist of:
    • Any evidently happening hydrocarbon, 
    • Coal mattress methane, and 
    • Shale gas/oil.  
  • Introduction of petroleum lease:  The Act offers for a mining lease. The lease offers for various activities inclusive of exploration, prospecting, manufacturing, making merchantable, and disposal of mineral oils.
    • The Bill replaces the mining lease with a petrol rent, which also covers a comparable set of activities. Existing mining leases granted under the Act will continue to be valid.
  • Rule making powers of the central government:  The Act empowers the central government to make Rules on several matters.
    • These include regulating the grant of leases, conservation and development of mineral oils, strategies for generating oil, and way of collection of royalties, fees, and taxes. 
    • The central government may additionally make Rules on merger and combination of petroleum leases, sharing of production and processing facilities, responsibilities of lessees toward defensive surroundings and lowering emissions, alternative mechanisms for resolving disputes in terms of the supply of petroleum leases.

• The Bill provides following offenses: 

• • Undertaking activities related to mineral oils along with exploring, prospecting, and manufacturing without a valid lease, and 
• Non-payment of royalty.  
• Adjudication of penalties:  The central government will employ an officer of the rank of Joint Secretary or above for adjudication of penalties.
  • Appeals against the decisions of the Adjudicating Authority will lie before the Appellate Tribunal specific in the Petroleum and Natural Gas Board Regulatory Board Act, 2006.  
• The 2006 Act designates the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity, constituted under the Electricity Act, 2003, as the Appellate Tribunal.

Source: The Hindu

UPSC Mains Practice Question

Q. “Access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy is the sine qua non to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”.Comment on the progress made in India in this regard. (2018)