The Lobbyists: Untold Story of Oil Gas and Energy Sector

In early 2000, India caught attention of global petroleum giants after it announced world's biggest gas discovery. In 2004, it announced another world-class oil discovery in Rajasthan. These developments raised India's hope that the world's fourth largest oil importer would be able to significantly reduce over-dependence on the Gulf and other oil producing countries. But, subsequent developments belied the hope. Soon India's oil and gas dream turned out to be a nightmare. Controversies gripped domestic oil and gas industry. Greed for gas resulted into a major corporate war. It involved politicians, media and some members of the civic society. The Congress-led Manmohan Singh government was accused of encouraging crony capitalism. Allegations of corruption triggered probes by auditors and investigative agencies. Bureaucrats stopped taking decisions. The government suffered acute policy paralysis. Exploration and production of oil and gas suffered. In less than one decade India's import dependence jumped. India left Japan behind to become world's third largest oil importer after the United States and China. This would have comforted oil exporting countries. India would continue to remain their most dependable market as it imported more than 80% crude oil it processes. The future $150-160 oil market was secure thanks to intense internal strife over oil and gas matters. But, a question remained unanswered. Was the decade-long turbulence sponsored by some lobbyists having share in this import pie? This book is an attempt to examine it. Was it a mere coincidence that India's energy security engagements with neighbours, particularly with Iran lost vigour after the first Oil Minister Mani Shankar Iyar was removed? Was the Civil Nuclear Deal an American sugar-coated pill that contained the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT)? The book highlights certain factual developments at that time that would throw some light on these questions. This book is also iconoclastic. It attempts to change the popular perception created by certain groups or individuals around the oil and gas sector controversies. It explains how certain political and corporate elements took advantage of the confusion to pursue their self interests? What was perceived as black was in fact, not so dark and what was felt completely white, had shades of gray. So far people had been shown only 180-degree of the oil and gas controversies. This book brings up the other side of the picture, which was hitherto hidden. This is an attempt to complete the circle so that reader can form a 360-degree picture.