India Seeks to Attain Energy Independence by 2030

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources India (Delhi, India)--India's Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) has set an ambitious goal to attain energy independence by 2030. Speaking at the National Editors' Conference in New Delhi, India's Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas, Dr. M. Veerappa Moily, assured that the government is working toward securing energy independence for India, which is now largely dependent on other countries to meet its energy needs.

Stressing on the urgent need for increasing domestic oil and gas production, he said the government will make every effort to reduce the nation's dependence on imported oil. India is the one of the largest crude oil importers, having imported about $140 billion worth in the last fiscal year.

The minister elaborated on a number of steps taken to boost domestic exploration and production of hydrocarbons. These include his ministry allowing exploration in mining lease areas, even after the completion of an exploration period to attract significant investments and add substantial value of oil & gas production in ML areas.

The minister also said that the ministry has rolled out a new vision and set ambitious targets to reduce crude oil imports 50% by 2020 and 75% by 2025, and eventually achieve self-sufficiency and energy independence for India by 2030. This is possible, he emphasized, as only 73 billion barrels out of 205 billion barrels of prognosticated hydrocarbon resources have been established so far, leaving 132 billion barrels to be unlocked.

To expedite implementation of new exploration programmes across the country, the Petroleum Ministry has recently constituted a high-level committee to prepare a roadmap for enhancing domestic production of oil & gas and sustainable reductions in imports by 2030.

The minister further said the government is working to create an enabling and conducive environment to promote investments, by making fiscal terms that are simple to administer.

Moily also said that domestic crude oil production is expected to reach 42.31 million metric tons (MMT) during 2012-13, which would be 11.08% higher than the previous year. The increase in production is mainly on account of higher crude oil production from the Barmer fields in Rajasthan, which is currently producing 170,000 barrels per day.

He also said that the recently set up Cabinet Committee on Investments (CCI), a committee to fast-track large, delayed projects, already has given clearance for five out of seven exploration blocks.

Considering India's vast shale gas potential spread over several sedimentary basins, such as Cambay, Gondwana, Krishna-Godawari on-land, and Cauvery, the Petroleum Minister assured rigorous exploration and exploitation of the resource under the guidance of the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) (New Delhi).

Besides, the Minister said that a revised coal bed methane (CBM) policy is under consideration. The policy would enable expeditious commencement of CBM gas production. There is a significant prospect for exploration of CBM, as India has the fourth-largest proven coal reserves in the world.

Even more promising for India is the formation of a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for the proposed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) Gas Pipeline Project to procure gas from abroad.

Further, the petroleum minister felt that to cater to India's growing gas needs, liquified natural gas (LNG) has to play a big role. In this line, the capacity at Dahej LNG terminal is to be expanded to 12.5 million metric tons per annum (MMTPA) by 2013 and 15 MMTPA by 2015-16, and a 5 MMTPA terminal at Kochi is expected to be operational in next two to three months. Another 5-MMTPA LNG regasification plant at Dabol recently was commissioned in January 2013.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.