Chief Minister Pema Khandu has urged Oil India Ltd (OIL) to ensure that its investments in Arunachal Pradesh translate into tangible benefits for local people — through employment, entrepreneurship, skill development and community infrastructure.
Khandu made the remarks during a meeting with an OIL delegation led by its chairman and managing director Ranjit Rath, where the company’s ongoing and proposed activities in the state were discussed. The talks covered oil and natural gas exploration, the expansion of natural gas distribution and emerging opportunities in the energy sector.
The State’s Ask
While the government remains committed to facilitating investments and resolving implementation bottlenecks, Khandu said the focus must be on what those investments deliver on the ground. “Our focus is to ensure that these investments translate into tangible benefits for our people through local employment, entrepreneurship, skill development and community infrastructure,” he said, according to officials present at the meeting. The message mirrors the state’s broader push to link industrial activity with livelihoods — from textile and youth-empowerment programmes to resource partnerships.
City Gas for Arunachal
The meeting comes as OIL looks to expand beyond exploration and production into natural gas distribution, a move officials say could improve access to cleaner fuel and build related infrastructure across the Northeast. OIL and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) have already moved on a joint venture — Arunachal Gas Private Limited, incorporated with equal stakes — to develop a city gas distribution network in the state.
The proposed network aims to supply piped natural gas to households, commercial establishments and industries, besides setting up compressed natural gas (CNG) stations for vehicles. It follows the state’s earlier resource partnership with OIL for critical mineral exploration in the PHOP Block.
#OilIndia #PemaKhandu #ArunachalPradesh #NaturalGas #LocalJobs #NorthEastNews #Energy
