India Energy Week: PM Modi seeks more investments in oil & gas, refineries

Launches E20 fuel (petrol blended with 20% ethanol) two years before target

Even as India remains committed to green growth, it would need major investments in the traditional oil and gas sector, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday, as he invited foreign investors.
 
Speaking at the first edition of the India Energy Week 2023 in Bengaluru, Modi also assured investors that the government is working to quickly ramp up domestic oil production and refining.

He said the government is working to raise the total crude oil refining capacity in the country to 450 MMTPA (million metric tonnes per annum), from the current 250 MMTPA.

The country already has the fourth-largest crude refining capacity in the world, but demand has outstripped supply during the past few years.

Modi also said the government has opened up at least one million square kilometers of area for domestic exploration and production that were hitherto considered inaccessible, he added.

Both 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, the Prime Minister told a large number of domestic and international investors, and industry and corporate leaders.

India’s share in global oil demand is 5 per cent currently and is expected to rise to 11 per cent, whereas gas demand of India is expected to rise by up to 500 per cent.

Modi said the terminal regasification capacity of 21 MMTPA has doubled in 2022 while efforts are being made to increase it even more. He added the number of City Gas Distribution Centres in the country has gone up nine times and the number of CNG stations has risen to 5,000 from 900 in 2014.

The gas pipeline network has increased to 22,000 km from 14,000 km in 2014. It is expected to expand to 35,000 km in the next 4-5 years, Modi said.

NEW LAUNCHES

• First ever twin-cooktop indoor solar cooking system by Indian Oil
• Plastic-based clothing for customer attendants and LPG delivery personnel

E20 Launched

The Prime Minister also officially launched the E20 fuel (20 per cent ethanol blending in gasoline), which will initially be available in 15 cities, and will be expanded nationwide within two years. The move will lead to an estimated Rs 50,000 crore worth of savings by the government as it cuts down on crude oil imports.

The rollout will further boost the government’s plans of achieving the level of 30 per cent ethanol blending in the overall petrol supply in the country by 2025.

India was on track to contribute 25 per cent of global ethanol demand by 2040. The country has increased the ethanol blending in petrol from 1.53 per cent in 2013-14 to 10.17 per cent in 2022. To achieve 20 per cent blending by 2025, the country needs 10.2-11 billion litres of ethanol.

This would require a production capacity of about 14.5 billion litres, as some production has to be kept aside for starch and chemical industry, industry sources had earlier told Business Standard.