India will be able to produce 25% of its crude oil demand by 2030, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep S Puri has said.
Speaking with the media at the three-day South Asian Geoscience Conference Geo India 2022 on Friday, Puri noted that the Indian petroleum industry "is at the cusp of opportunity".
The Minister pointed out that the country was consuming five million barrels of petroleum every day, adding that this was also increasing by three percent, which is higher than the global average of around one per cent.
Addressing the inaugural session of the conference, Puri 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. This had meant a reduction of 2.7 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, which is good for the environment, he added.
As per the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates, India will contribute a quarter (25%) of the growth in global energy consumption in the coming two decades, Puri said. He also referred to 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, who also attended the event, said the geology experts should utilise this opportunity to elevate their contribution in the context of increasing demand and scarcity of energy sources.
