Energy: PM Modi invites foreign investors in oil & gas, green energy growth
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: While India gradually transitions from the traditional oil and gas sector to green energy, the country needs foreign investments in both these sectors, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday.
Addressing the first edition of the India Energy Week 2023 in Bengaluru, he said the nation is committed to the emerging green energy sector, as he assured investors that the government is working to quickly ramp up domestic oil production and refining also.
A large number of domestic and international investors, and industry and corporate leaders are taking part in the event.
The PM said the government is working to raise India’s total crude oil refining capacity to 450 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA), from the current 250 MMTPA.
India already has the fourth-largest crude refining capacity in the world, but increasing demand has outstripped supply during the past few years.
Modi said the government has opened up at least one million square km of area for domestic exploration and production of oil and gas that were hitherto considered inaccessible.
These moves are aimed at facilitating more investment into India’s oil and gas sector, which is set to witness a boom in business owing to demand growth. India’s share in global oil demand is expected to increase from the current 5 percent to 11 percent, whereas gas demand may jump to 500 percent.
Modi said the terminal regasification capacity of 21 MMTPA has doubled in 2022. The number of City Gas Distribution (CGD) centers in the country have gone up nine times and the number of CNG stations has increased from 900 in 2014 to 5,000 now.
The gas pipeline network has increased from 14,000 km in 2014 to 22,000 km now and is expected to expand to 35,000 km in the next 4-5 years, Modi said.
The Prime Minister also officially launched the E20 fuel (20 percent ethanol blending in gasoline), which will initially be available in 15 cities and will be expanded nationwide within two years. The move could save an estimated Rs 50,000 crore as India cuts down on crude oil imports.
The rollout will further boost the government’s plans of achieving the level of 30 percent ethanol blending in the overall petrol supply in the country by 2025.
India is set to contribute 25 percent of global ethanol demand by 2040. The country has increased the ethanol blending in petrol from 1.53 percent in 2013-14 to 10.17 percent in 2022. To achieve 20 percent blending by 2025, the country needs 10.2-11 billion liters of ethanol.
This would require a production capacity of about 14.5 billion liters, as some production has to be kept aside for the starch and chemical industry.
