Military, energy interests clash in India

Feb. 26, 2013
Security concerns are slowing energy development in India.

Security concerns are slowing energy development in India.

Restrictions imposed by the Ministry of Defense have impeded exploration and development on 39 blocks offshore India, according to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

In a report to the lower house of the Indian parliament, Panabaaka Lakshmi, minister of state for petroleum and natural gas, said the defense ministry cited strategic and security-related considerations when it limited activity on petroleum exploration licenses awarded under various bidding rounds.

Most of the blocks are off eastern India: 22 in the Krishna-Godavari basin, 9 in the Mahanadi-Northeast Coast basin, 3 in the Cauvery basin, and 2 in the Prahnita-Godavari basin.

Two of the affected blocks are off western India in the Gujarat-Saurashtra basin. One block is off the Andaman Islands.