Hardeep Singh Puri, India’s Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas has said that during the two decades leading up to 2040, India will be responsible for almost 25% of the growth in the world’s energy demand.
Puri stated that India’s energy policy is based on such an expectation and has been recognised as being practical and balanced by citing both industry and research projections. “It is vital to ensure energy access, availability, and affordability for our big population,” he said.
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According to Puri, India wants to increase the amount of land it is exploring for oil and gas from 0.25 million square kilometres to 0.5 million. In the nation’s exclusive economic zones, “prohibited or no-go areas have been cut by 99 percent, freeing up over one million sq km for exploration,” he continued.
“We are also rapidly expanding our petrochemical production. India is now a global exporter of petroleum products and its refining capacity is the fourth largest globally. Efforts are underway to further enhance this capacity to 450 million metric tons by 2040,” according to the Minister.
He said reforms are making India an attractive energy and power destination for global investors.
Story adapted from Zawya
