India has invited global firms to invest in its strategic petroleum reserves (SPRs) as the nation’s energy consumption growth would be fastest among large economies in coming decades, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan told a conference on Monday.
India’s share in global energy consumption is set to rise from 7% to 12% in 2050, Pradhan told the ADIPEC conference.
The nation, the world’s third-biggest oil consumer and importer, earlier this year filled its three SPRs in southern India with 5.33 million tonnes of oil when prices were low.
To attract private investment in its SPRs, India recently allowed Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) to re-export some of its oil stored in Mangalore SPR, mirroring a model adopted by South Korea and Japan.
Companies are investing $60 billion in creating oil and gas infrastructure over five years through 2024, which includes building gas import terminals and expanding gas pipeline networks to provide last mile connectivity to households and industries.
The South Asian nation is spending $20 billion to produce 15 million tonnes of compressed biogas by 2023, and has recently started supplying hydrogen compressed natural gas for 50 buses as a trial.
