The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Petroleum sector to witness policy continuity, says Puri
India’soilandgassectorwillsee continuity in government policy and initiatives of the past few years, building on the work that has been done in priority segments of the energy space, Union Cabinet Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said Tuesday after resuming charge of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MOPNG).
Puri, who was at the helm of the MOPNG in the previous government since 2021, was reallocatedtheportfolioonmondayfollowingtheswearinginofthenew government.thepetroleumminister said that energy “availability, affordability, and sustainability” has been the mantra or philosophyofthenarendramodigovernment and it shall continue to guidethegovernment’sactionsin this new term as well. In an interaction with reporters after taking charge as the petroleum minister ontuesday,puriidentifiedfivekey segments that are likely to see additional thrust from his ministry. These are: oil and gas exploration and production, refinery and petrochemicals, natural gas, biofuels, and green hydrogen.
India is a major energy consumer and its demand is rapidly rising. India is the world’s thirdlargest consumer of crude oil but depends on imports to meet over 85percentofitsrequirement.the country is also a large consumer of natural gas with an import dependency level of around 50 per cent. Raising domestic output of oil and gas has been a key priority of the government to reduce reliance on costly energy imports.
Puri said that two rounds of auction of new oil and gas blocks are expected over the next few weeks, and the government will also be encouraging upstream oil andgascompaniestofocusonenhancingoutputfromageingfields bycollaboratingwithinternational playerswithexpertiseintechnical services for the petroleum sector.
Over the past couple of years, purchase of discounted crude from Russia has helped Indian refiners in slightly softening the impact of extreme price volatility in global energy markets. On being asked if public sector refiners are looking to ink term deals with Russia for cheaper oil purchases, Puri said that they are looking at Russia and even other suppliers for cheaper oil.