As per Oil Governor Hardeep Singh Puri, India, is the third-largest energy consumer in the world. It is increasing with domestic oil and gas exploration, diversifying its import base, switching to alternative sources, and using gas and green hydrogen as a pathway to energy transition and security.
India is expected to account for a fourth of the increase in global energy demand over the next two decades. According to Puri, who was in town for an event showcasing old boats on the holy city’s “ghats” that are now running on CNG rather than polluting diesel.
While the country depends on imports for 50% of its natural gas needs and 85% of its oil needs. India is blending ethanol made from sugarcane and other agricultural products with gasoline to reduce its reliance on foreign sources.
By 2025, 20 percent of ethanol will be blended into gasoline, according to Puri. “Our energy security strategy is based on four pillars: diversifying our energy sources; expanding our footprint in exploration and production; utilizing alternative energy sources; and addressing the energy transition through the gas-based economy, green hydrogen, and electric vehicles,” he said. India increased the number of its crude oil suppliers from 27 countries in 2006-07 to 39 in 2021-22, adding new suppliers like Columbia, Russia, Libya, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, etc.
Natural gas too is found below the surface and is used to generate electricity, make fertilizer and convert into CNG to run automobiles and piped to homes for cooking purposes.
Exploration over a wider area will yield more discoveries, raising domestic oil and gas output and cutting reliance on imports. Also, India increased the ethanol blending in petrol from 1.53 percent in 2013-14 to 10.17 percent in 2022 and advanced its target to achieve 20 percent ethanol blending in petrol from 2030 to 2025-26. The phased rollout of E20 will commence this month or February, he said.
Simultaneously, the government is supplementing supplies by setting up compressed biogas (CBG) plants that use animal and Agri waste to produce gas.
