Modi govt brought sea change in oil and gas sector in 11 years: Hardeep Puri

New Delhi, June 28 (IANS) Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday said the Modi government has brought a sea change in the country's oil and gas sector in the last 11 years.

This was made possible via several unique initiatives, like 'Digital India', and due to the tech-driven innovations, fuel stations and LPG systems have become smarter in the last 11 years.

The Union Minister said in a post on the social media platform X that due to the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, "our fuel stations, refineries and LPG systems have also become smarter through Digital India in the last 11 years".

"From unified payments interface (UPI) at fuel pumps to artificial intelligence (AI) in refineries, this quiet technological change is real and is visible at every step,” the minister noted.

The minister also shared a video which shows that there has been a massive change in the oil and gas sector owing to the use of technology.

At present, almost all fuel stations have been automated and fuel dispensing units and stock are being controlled and monitored digitally.

The video further stated that UPI is being accepted at almost all fuel stations. Apart from this, DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) has been introduced in the LPG system, which has helped save Rs 3.48 lakh crore.

Additionally, downtime has been reduced in the refineries through "digital twin" technology and AI, thus helping increase the output.

The minister said that recently, the Modi government has opened up for oil and gas exploration, a staggering one million sq km of India's 3.5 million sq km sedimentary basin, which was off-limits for hydrocarbon exploration earlier.

"Thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visionary leadership, this entire 'No-Go' area has now been opened - to boost domestic output and cut import dependence," the minister said.

He further stated that, along with the new law to govern exploration and production, several measures have been taken towards ease of doing business in the oil and gas exploration and production sector.

--IANS

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