Even though the country is making big strides in green energy, India needs major investments in the traditional oil and gas sector, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday as he inaugurated the first edition of the India Energy Week 2023 in Bengaluru and asked investors to explore opportunities in India’s energy sector.
“India’s current capacity is around 250 MMTPA (million metric tonnes per annum), which is being rapidly increased to 450 MMTPA. We are indigenous, modernising, and upgrading our refining industry in Kolkata. We are also working very fast towards increasing our petrochemical production capacity. You can all expand your energy landscape by tapping into India’s rich technology potential and growing start-up ecosystem,” said PM Modi.
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Speaking about India’s emphasis on promoting domestic exploration and production, PM Modi said that the government has reduced the ‘No-Go’ areas (a 10 lakh square-kilometre area has been exempted from No-Go restrictions). “If we look at the statistics, this reduction is more than 98% even in No-Go areas. I would urge all investors to use these opportunities to increase your presence in the exploration of fossil fuels,” he said.
The Prime Minister added that India’s current share in global oil demand is around 5%, but it is expected to reach 11% while India’s gas demand is expected to increase by 500%. “Our expanding energy sector is creating new opportunities for investment and collaboration in India… I would again appeal to you to definitely explore every opportunity related to India’s energy sector and engage with it. Today, India is the most suitable place in the world for your investment,” Modi said.
He added that there are four major verticals of India’s strategy regarding the energy sector, including increasing domestic exploration and production; diversification of supplies; expansion of alternative energy sources like biofuels, ethanol, compressed biogas and solar; decarbonization through electric vehicles and hydrogen.
The PM said that the government is working on a mission mode to increase natural gas consumption in India’s energy mix by 2030. He added that India has the fourth-largest crude refining capacity in the world.
“Our effort is to increase LNG [Liquiefied Natural Gas] terminal re-gasification capacity. Our capacity in 2014 was 21 MMTPA, which has almost doubled by 2022. Work is on to further enhance it. The number of CGD [City Gas Distribution] in India has also increased by nine times compared to 2014. We had around 900 CNG [Compressed Natural Gas] stations in 2014, now their number has increased to 5000,” he added.
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PM Modi further said that India’s gas pipeline network will expand to 35,000 km in the next four-five years from 22,000 km at present.
“In 2014, the length of the gas pipeline in our country was about 14,000 kilometres. Now it has increased to more than 22,000 kilometres. In the next 4-5 years, the gas pipeline network in India will reach 35,000 kilometres which means there are huge investment opportunities in India’s natural gas infrastructure,” he said.
At the event, PM Modi also launched initiatives, including the sale of 20% ethanol-blended petrol on a pilot basis by public sector oil marketing companies. India has already achieved 10% ethanol blending in petrol and has advanced the deadline to achieve 20% blending by five years to 2025-26.
Named E20, ethanol-blended petrol will be introduced in 15 cities first and will be extended to different parts of the country soon, PM Modi said. Similarly, the twin cooktop Indian solar cooker, also launched at the event, will be supplied to three crore families in the next two to three years, the PM said.
At the event, the Prime Minister also expressed grief over the loss of life and to those affected by the earthquake in Turkey.
