BHUBANESWAR: Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday said India will offer an investment opportunity of 300 billion US dollar in the hydrocarbon sector in next 10 years to keep pace with its incremental demand for energy. Inaugurating the 22nd edition of Refining and Technology Meet (RPTM) here organised by the Centre for High Technology in association with Indian Oil Corporation, Pradhan said Japan has already assured an investment of $10 billion in the sector.
India being the third largest consumer of primary energy, Pradhan said the energy consumption of the country is expected to increase from the current 5.5 per cent to 9 per cent by 2035. With a big appetite for energy, the country needs to add more refining capacity. “Our demand for petroleum products will rise from the current level of 194 million tonnes to 458 million tonnes by 2040. Every 2-3 three years, we have to add capacity of about 20 million tonnes to meet our requirement,” he said.
Acknowledging the challenges lying ahead, Pradhan said addition of refining capacity of over 260 million tonnes in next two decades is definitely a daunting task as India took more than 60 years to create a capacity of 247 million tonnes. He called upon both public and private sector oil and gas companies to add at least 200 million tonnes of refining capacity in order to maintain India’s leadership position as the hub of Asian refining and product export.
Future position
Energy consumption expected to increase from the current 5.5 per cent to 9 per cent by 2035
Demand for petroleum products to rise from the current 194 million tonnes to 458 million tonnes by 2040
Every 2-3 three years, capacity addition of about 20 million tonnes needed to meet the requirement
$10 billion assured investment by Japan already
Exhorting the participants to accept the challenge, the Union Minister said the three-day conclave must prepare a road map on how to develop the R& D (Research and Development) so that India would be the world leader in the refining sector.
Underlining the critical importance of innovation, Pradhan was of the view that these will be vital to achieve sustainable growth and provide clean and affordable energy to the people.
“I am not satisfied with the R&D performance of the PSU oil companies. We have to concentrate more on research and development so that we can achieve global excellence standards in years to come,” he said.
Encouraging a healthy competition among refineries in both private and public sectors, Pradhan said the country should not only possess best technology but should have best refinery practices.
Expressing his happiness at the strong ties between Indian and Japan, Japanese Ambassador to India Kenji Hiramatsu said the bilateral ties between the two countries will be taken forward in the field of energy cooperation as well especially in the LPG.
The Union Minister presented energy sector awards to oil industries in different categories including better performance and innovation.