India's Energy Strategy: Resilience Amid Global Challenges

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri refuted claims of a new cooking gas levy, highlighting India's stable energy sector despite global disruptions. He emphasized testing ethanol-blended petrol, stressed expansion of retail outlets, and showcased India's growing energy influence. India and Brazil will rejuvenate Mumbai High fields, maintaining competitive fuel prices.

Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, on Friday dismissed speculative media reports about a potential levy on cooking gas, affirming that the government is not considering such a move. Speaking at the 7th CII International Energy Conference, Puri criticized media dependency on unsubstantiated claims, urging, 'Someone writes and rumors are spread, and then you ask me to respond. It's not fair. It's not fair. If you have something concrete, let me know. But I'm not aware of any such proposal.'

Addressing concerns on ethanol-blended petrol, the minister pointed out the resilience of India's fuel distribution network amid recent market shocks. India's fuel retail network remained robust, effectively weathering controversies surrounding E20 ethanol-blended petrol.

Following concerns from an industry body on 28 July, Puri stated that intensive testing had begun two weeks prior. Oil marketing companies collected approximately 2,000 samples daily from petrol stations across the country through dedicated testing teams. Out of India's 107,000 retail outlets serving six to seven crore customers a day, only four contamination cases were detected. Puri highlighted that some parties were taking findings out of context. He noted the expansion of India's retail fuel network from 52,000 outlets in 2014 to approximately 107,000 today, with no outlet running out of stock despite global supply pressures. This was credited to diversified crude sourcing, resilient infrastructure, international partnerships, technological upgrades, and strategic reserves.

Puri highlighted that India is the world's third-largest energy consumer and importer, and the fourth-largest refiner, with energy demand growing at nearly three times the global average. Quoting the International Energy Agency, he projected that India could contribute nearly 30% to the increase in global oil demand by 2050. He contrasted this with declining refining capacity in Europe and the US, noting Europe's loss of around 200,000 barrels per day in capacity and the absence of new refineries in the US for five decades. On LPG, Puri addressed a brief concern over supplies from Gulf nations near the Strait of Hormuz by ramping up domestic LPG production from about 34,000 to 55,000 metric tonnes daily, partly achieved through refinery output reconfiguration.

The minister emphasized a collaborative effort between ONGC, Brazil's Petrobras, and BP to rejuvenate production at the Mumbai High offshore fields, discovered in 1974. The government plans to support drilling costs by up to 50%, with a cap of around 650 crore per well. On fuel prices, Puri acknowledged that while global crude price volatility has slightly increased petrol and diesel prices, excise duty cuts announced in November 2021, May 2022, and projected for March 2026, amounting to around Rs 10 per litre, have kept Indian retail fuel prices notably affordable, lower than those in neighboring countries and several European nations.

Puri struck a cautiously optimistic tone about the future, stating that while global uncertainties remain, India is well-positioned to manage forthcoming challenges. (ANI)