PM predicts jump in India oil demand
Projecting a growth of 40 per cent in India’s oil demand in the next decade, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh on Monday stressed on securing energy supplies at affordable prices to meet the requirement of the rapidly expanding economy.
“India needs adequate supplies of energy at affordable prices to meet the demand of its rapidly growing economy,” he said inaugurating the Petrotech-2010 oil and gas conference here.
India, which consumed over 138 million tonnes of fuel in 2009-10, imports three-fourth of its oil needs and one-third of its gas requirement. It imported $ 79.5 billion worth of 159.2 million tonnes of crude oil.
“Demand over the next 10 years will increase by over 40 per cent, whereas the increase in supply from the maturing (domestic) oilfields is expected to be around 12 per cent,” he said. Domestic sources are inadequate to meet the increasing demand for energy. The nation's domestic oil production was about 34 million tonnes in the last fiscal.
To bridge the shortfall, the government is encouraging national oil companies to acquire oil and gas fields abroad, Dr Singh said.
The Prime Minister stressed on building strong economic partnership with hydrocarbon-rich countries.
Dr Singh said oil and gas on Monday are not seen as mere commodities to be traded freely. — PTI
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