India is now importing 75 per cent of the required crude oil from other countries, by spending 50 billion dollars and the union government intends to bring down the import to zero by 2030, said Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas M Veerappa Moily.

Stressing the need to carry out researches on finding crude oil reserves in the country, the Minister said that the government intends to reduce the import of crude oil to 50 per cent by 2020, further bring it down to 25 per cent by 2025 and completely stop the import and achieve self-sufficiency by 2030, he said.

He was speaking after laying foundation stone for the South India’s first transport hub at Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd Mangalore LPG import facility premises in Bala on Monday. Emphasising on the importance of achieving self-sufficiency in crude oil production and refining in the country, he said India has the potential to be self-sufficient in extracting and refining crude oil. An oil reserve has been found in the deserts of Rajasthan which nobody ever thought of. The foundation stone for the oil refinery will be laid at Jaipur with in three months, he said.

Mentioning about a farmer-friendly proposal that has been submitted to the Agricultural University, Bangalore, he said the proposal intends to open outlets of agriculture products in petrol bunks, making it convenient for the public to purchase vegetables as well it helps the farmers to sell their products.

Transport hub

The to be developed transport hub in Mangalore LPG Import Facility premises, which is said to be the South India’s first transport hub, would help the petrol tank and truck drivers and cleaners to spend their time at MLIF, more comfortably. The hub consisting of state-of-the-art facilities will come up in an area of 660 sq metres. The hub will include premium facilities like a dormitory, medical room, library, Yoga/meditation room, convenience store, canteen, toilet and washroom with modern facilities connected to the dormitory.