Itanagar, Oct 15 Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Thursday urged Oil India Ltd (OIL) to ensure that its investments in the state generate local employment, promote entrepreneurship and skill development, and improve community infrastructure.
Khandu made the remarks during a meeting with an OIL delegation led by its chairman and managing director Ranjit Rath to discuss the company’s ongoing and proposed activities, officials said.
The discussions covered oil and natural gas exploration, expansion of natural gas distribution and emerging opportunities in the energy sector, Khandu said in a post on X.
“While we remain committed to facilitating investments and resolving implementation bottlenecks, 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.
The meeting comes as OIL seeks to expand its activities beyond exploration and production into natural gas distribution, creating opportunities to improve access to cleaner fuel and develop related infrastructure in the Northeast, officials said.
In August last year, OIL and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) signed an agreement to establish a joint venture to develop a city gas distribution network in Arunachal Pradesh.
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.
The joint venture, Arunachal Gas Private Limited, was incorporated in November 2025, with OIL and BPCL holding equal stakes.
The state government’s emphasis, as outlined by Khandu, is on linking such investments with wider economic opportunities for local communities.
Employment for local youth, training in technical and allied skills, opportunities for local businesses and improvements in community facilities are among the benefits the chief minister said should accompany the expansion of energy-related activities.
(PTI News)
