Securing Affordable, Clean Energy a Top Agenda for India: Petroleum Minister

Dharmendra Pradhan has said that securing affordable and clean energy tops agenda of “vulnerable” importing nations like India, amid Saudi Oil attacks

With the biggest attack ever on the Saudi oil industry creating volatility in the market, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has highlighted that securing affordable and clean energy tops agenda of “vulnerable” importing nations like India which were exposed to supply concerns.

India was able to secure most of its contracted supplies from its second-biggest oil supplier, Saudi Arabia, in the aftermath of the September 14 drone and missile assault on the Kingdom’s main oil facility that knocked out about 5.7 million barrels a day, about half of the country’s output.

“The price volatility and concerns about sustained oil supplies made consuming countries vulnerable given the fact that India, along with most South Asian countries, have a major dependency on crude oil and gas imports. So, securing affordable and sustainable energy figures as a top agenda for all these countries, including India,” Pradhan said at the World Economic Forum.

“It is only natural that the global energy deliberations pay close attention to the developments in the energy sector in India,” he said. “This has a lot to do with the emergence of India as the third-largest energy consumer in the world, and the fact that India is playing a leading role globally by implementing several transformative initiatives to reduce energy poverty in the country.”

India, he said, recorded the highest growth of foreign energy investments in the world, which touched USD 85 billion.

The trend is increasingly tilting towards adoption of cleaner fuels. Gas is already established as a transition fuel and increasing the share of gas in overall primary energy mix has emerged as a priority for India. A mixed energy basket is the way forward.#IES19 pic.twitter.com/F4uvxO5TJE

— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) October 3, 2019

The government’s approach to energy policy, he said, covers four pillars of energy access, energy efficiency, energy sustainability and energy security. Stating that the challenge ahead is daunting, he said close attention is being paid to innovation and clean energy.

“Our success in the Ujjwala programme has attracted enormous global interest, including many developing countries keen to emulate this model of providing clean cooking fuel. Our immediate objective will be to enhance the use of LPG in the South Asia region. We will, for the first time, be sourcing LPG from Bangladesh for our northeastern states,” he said.

India, he said, is now leading the global movement in embracing renewable energy sources and would have 100 GW of solar generating capacity by 2022.

Published with permission from iamrenew.com