Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas recently introduced the Oilfields Amendment Bill 2024 in Rajya Sabha.
Key Features of Oilfields Amendment Bill 2024:
- The Bill amends the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Act, 1948, which regulates the exploration and extraction of natural gas and petroleum.
- Itdefines mineral oils to include petroleum and natural gas and expands their definition to include any naturally occurring hydrocarbon, coal bed methane, and shale gas/oil.
- It clarifies that mineral oils will not include coal, lignite or helium.
- The Bill replaces mining lease with a petroleum lease, and provides for similar activities like exploration, prospecting, production, making merchantable, and disposal of mineral oils.
- The central government may make Rules on:
- Merger and combination of petroleum leases,
- Sharing of production and processing facilities,
- Obligations of lessees towards protecting environment and reducing emissions,
- Alternative mechanisms for resolving disputes in relation to the grant of petroleum leases.
- It added offences like (i) mineral oils activities such as exploring, prospecting, and production without a valid lease, and (ii) non-payment of royalty.
- These are also punishable with a penalty of Rs 25 lakh and continued violation in case of all above offences will attract a penalty of up to Rs 10 lakh per day.
- The central government will appoint 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 specified 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.
Ref: Source
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Frequently Asked Question:
What is the main purpose of the Bill amending the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Act, 1948?
The Bill aims to update and expand the regulation of natural gas and petroleum exploration and extraction.
How does the Bill redefine ‘mineral oils’?
The Bill expands the definition of mineral oils to include not only petroleum and natural gas but also naturally occurring hydrocarbons, coal bed methane, and shale gas/oil. It excludes coal, lignite, and helium from this definition.
What changes does the Bill make regarding leases?
The Bill replaces mining leases with petroleum leases, which now cover activities such as exploration, prospecting, production, making merchantable, and disposal of mineral oils.