Within days of resolving the row over operatorship of Panna-Mukta and Tapti oil and gas fields, British oil and gas major BG Group Plc on Monday committed to investing more in oil and gas exploration in India and setting up LNG import project.

"They have expressed willingness to investing more in E&P and would evaluate opportunities in the fourth round of bidding for oil and gas blocks under New Exploration Licensing Policy," Petroleum Minister Ram Naik said after holding discussions with visiting board of directors of BG Group here.

BG had late last week reached an agreement with Oil and Natural Gas Corp and Reliance Industries for a joint operatorship of Panna-Mukta and Tapti oil and gas fields wherein the Unincorporated Joint Venture will work through an Operator Board having one senior representative from each company.

Naik said the BG top brass, headed by its chairman

Richard Giordano and Chief Executive Officer Frank Chapman, committed to taking up expansion of the fields, off the Mumbai coast. An investment of $700 million by the consortium is envisaged to double gas output from the field.

BG and state gas firm GAIL India Ltd would also look at opportunities of cooperation in bringing natural gas to India in form of LNG from Iran, where the British company has a stake in a gas field, he said.

Besides, BG Group has also proposed to construct a 2.65 million tonnes capacity LNG import terminat at Pipavav in Gujarat.