The Prime Minister said that India is on its path to become the world’s top oil refiner, with efforts underway to increase the country’s refining capacity to over 300 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). (file photo)
Calling on global investors to invest in India’s energy sector, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Tuesday that sector is at the centre of India’s aspirations and presents a $500-billion investment opportunity. Addressing the India Energy Week in Goa virtually, the Prime Minister counted oil and gas exploration, refining, liquefied natural gas (LNG) value chain, and petrochemicals as sectors with massive growth and investment opportunities in India.
According to the Prime Minister, the government is riding the “reforms express” and has been undertaking measures to liberalise India’s hydrocarbons sector and create a transparent and investor-friendly environment in an effort to move beyond energy security to “energy independence”. He said that the country is building an energy sector ecosystem that can fulfill its own demand, and make energy exports competitive through affordable refining and transportation solutions.
“India is the fastest-growing major economy, which means the demand for energy products is constantly increasing here. Additionally, India provides excellent opportunities to meet global demand. Today, India is one of the top five exporters of petroleum products in the world. Our export coverage extends to over 150 countries, and this capability of India will be very useful to you,” Modi said, addressing delegates at India’s premier annual energy event.
The Prime Minister said that India is on its path to become the world’s top oil refiner, with efforts underway to increase the country’s refining capacity to over 300 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) from the current around 260 mtpa, which is an opportunity for investors. India is one of the few major economies where petroleum demand is still on the rise. The country is also a net exporter of petroleum products, and some global majors have shown an interest in investing in the country’s refining and petrochemicals sectors.
“India has such a large population and our economy is continuously growing. In such a scenario, the demand for petrochemical products in India is also going to rise constantly. Therefore, we need a very large energy infrastructure, and your investment in this will give you a lot of growth. Besides all this, there are many opportunities for you to invest in downstream activities in India,” Modi said.
India, while being among the largest consumers of crude, has an oil import dependency level of over 88%, and has been looking to increase domestic oil and gas production by intensifying exploration efforts. Inviting global investors to invest in hydrocarbon exploration in India, Modi said that the government has carried out numerous reforms to make the sector investor friendly.
“We are striving to take investment in our oil and gas sector to $100 billion by the end of this decade. Our goal is also to expand the scope of exploration to 1 million square kilometres. With this vision, more than 170 blocks have been awarded. The Andaman Nicobar basin is also becoming our next hydrocarbon hub…we have carried out many reforms in the exploration sector. No-go areas have been significantly reduced. In the previous editions of India Energy Week, whatever suggestions you gave or whatever you said, we have changed our acts and rules accordingly. If you invest in the exploration sector, your company’s profitability is certain to increase,” Modi said.
Given the government’s aim of increasing the share of natural gas in the country’s primary energy mix to 15% from a little over 6% at present, Modi said that the demand for imported LNG is expected to grow considerably, which presents another opportunity for investors.
“We need to work on the entire LNG value chain. Today, India is also working on transportation at a very large scale. For LNG transportation, the ships that are needed—we are working on building them in India itself. Recently, a Rs 70,0000-crore programme for shipbuilding was started in India. Additionally, there are many investment opportunities in constructing terminals at the country’s ports for LNG. Great opportunities are also emerging for you to invest in projects related to regasification (of LNG),” the Prime Minister said.
“For the transportation of LNG, a very large pipeline network is also needed in India. In past years, we have done a lot on this, but there are still opportunities for large-scale investment. Today, the city gas distribution network has reached many cities in India, and we are rapidly connecting other cities to it. City gas distribution is also a very attractive area for your investment,” he added.
Curated by Aisha Patel
