Help is at hand

India has revamped some upstream terms, much to the industry’s relief

The country's oil and gas industry approves of the new upstream-licensing regime, which can reinvigorate exploration and development, says oil and gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan. "There is a lot of public appreciation within the industry" for India's new Hydrocarbon Exploration Licensing Policy (Help), Pradhan tells Petroleum Economist in an exclusive interview. Help-which replaces the New Exploration Licensing Policy (Nelp) model-will shortly be put to the test in an auction of 67 discovered but as-yet-undeveloped small oil- and gasfields. "I'm confident," says Pradhan. "We are sensing good vibes in the market." In use since 1999 as the framework for nine licensing rounds, Nelp delivered l