'India may produce 25 per cent of its crude oil demand by 2030'

NEW DELHI: India will be able to produce 25 per cent of its crude oil demand by 2030, Union Petroleum and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep S Puri said on Friday.

Talking to media at the three-day South Asian Geoscience Conference Geo India 2022, at JECC, Jaipur, Rajasthan, Puri said the Indian petroleum industry is at the cusp of opportunity and will be able to produce 25 per cent of its crude oil demand by 2030.

At present, five million barrels of petroleum is being consumed in our country every day and it is also increasing by three percent, which is higher than the global average of around one per cent, the minister said.

In the inaugural session, the Minister said that the ethanol-blend percentage in petrol has increased from 0.67 per cent in 2013 to 10 per cent in May 2022, i.e. 5 months ahead of schedule. It is reducing 2.7 million tonnes of CO2 emissions which is good for the environment, according to an official statement released by the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

As per the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates, India will contribute a quarter (25 per cent) of the growth in global energy consumption in the coming two decades. BP estimates that India's energy demand will double, while natural gas demand is expected to grow five-fold by 2050.

Petroleum Secretary Pankaj Jain said the geology experts should utilise this opportunity to elevate their contribution in the context of increasing demand and scarcity of energy sources. He asked geoscientific fraternity to develop tailored knowledge for deep water, ultra-deep water and onshore to enhance oil and gas production while doing it in an environmentally sustainable manner.

Earlier, welcoming the dignitaries and participants, Rajesh Kumar Srivastava, CMD, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) said, "Geo India has been a major leader in the last 14 years under the aegis of Association of Petroleum Geologists (APG) India. The biennial South Asian Geology Conference and Exhibition has evolved in terms of size and international participation. The global market value of automation technology in the oil and gas sector is projected to nearly double and reach approximately $42 billion by 2030. It is high time that the oil and gas sector take advantage of the digital transformation.

On the first day of the conference, Plenary session witnessed intense by experts and Policy makers including Pankaj Jain, Secretray, MoPNG, SCL Das, DG-DGH, ExxonMobil MD Justin Murphy, Equinor MD Desikan Sundararajan, Md. El-Toukhy, Invest India's Rvneet Mann moderated by Energy affairs expert Narendra Taneja.

The Minister also inaugurated the Exhibition of GeoIndia 2022, where a number of Indian and global petroleum companies and service providers are showcasing their cutting-edge services and tools for Exploration and production of oil and gas.