NEW DELHI: India will account for 25% of the global increase in energy consumption over the next two decades, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Friday.
Speaking at the GEO India 2024 conference, Puri also highlighted that India’s fuel demand is growing at three times the global average rate.
“Balancing the trilemma of availability, affordability, and sustainability is not only a priority but a commitment that we are meeting head-on with a focus on exploration, production, and energy security,” said Puri.
The minister spoke extensively about India’s energy landscape, noting that the country possesses 651.8 million metric tons of recoverable crude oil reserves and 1,138.6 billion cubic meters of recoverable natural gas reserves within its sedimentary basins.
Puri also pointed out that when the current government took office in 2014, only 6% of India’s sedimentary basins had been explored.
“Today, this figure has risen to 10%, and with further exploration under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) rounds, it is set to increase to 16% by 2025,” he said.
The minister emphasised that by 2030, the government aims to expand the country’s exploration acreage to 1 million square kilometers, further enhancing India’s energy security.
Additionally, the government has reduced “No-Go” areas in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) by nearly 99%, opening up vast new areas for exploration. The recent Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) bidding round IX marked a historic milestone, with 136,596 square kilometers of exploration area offered in 28 blocks across eight sedimentary basins.
Notably, 38% of the area offered in this round had previously been classified as “No-Go” areas.
To expand exploration acreage to 1 mn sq km
The minister emphasised that by 2030, the government aims to expand the country’s exploration acreage to 1 million square kilometers, further enhancing India’s energy security. The government has reduced “No-Go” areas in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) by nearly 99%,