The petroleum ministry has proposed amendments to existing law to include cleaner sources of energy like hydrogen within the definition of ‘mineral oils’ for which the government gives out licence to explore and produce. Seeking stakeholder comments, the ministry said the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Bill 2021 proposes to amend the present Act to “create opportunities for exploration, development and production of next-generation cleaner fuels and mitigate regulatory challenges and risks.”
It also proposes a new definition of ‘mineral oils’ by including within its ambit modern and cleaner sources of energy like hydrogen. Conventionally, mineral oil is understood to mean hydrocarbons in various forms including natural gas and petroleum oil.
