In a bid to enhance the country's oil security, the Union petroleum ministry has suggested a multi-pronged strategy that includes oil PSUs taking up `equity oil' abroad.

In a background note prepared for the economic editors' conference, the ministry says strategic alliances with leading countries or companies to take up exploration and production projects in the country as well as abroad would be encouraged, thus giving impetus to greater capital and new geological concepts for discovering oil and gas in India.

``With increasing globalisation of exploration and production activities and with number of new countries opening up the sector, India can look out for opportunities to secure equity oil in foreign countries,'' the paper says.Apart from increasing the oil security, this would also provideefficient use of capital to maximise the returns to national oil companies. The Government would also encourage private investments in exploration and production to supplement the efforts of the national oil companies, the note said.

Total investments from private companies for development of discovered fields through joint ventures are to the tune of two billion dollars.Of this, substantial investments have already been made by companies and the Government also proposes to restructure the national oil companies to make them competitive so that the value of resources are maximised.Citing the example of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Videsh Ltd (OVL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of ONGC, actively engaged in the overseas exploration of oil and gas, the paper says that OVL is seeking more opportunities in Iraq and the CIS countries.