Global energy majors line up plans, appear bullish on India's prospects

Global oil and gas majors lined up their plans for India while appearing bullish on the country’s prospects as a gas and renewable energy market during an interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday night. Modi invited industry majors for further investment in India’s energy sector and also sought innovative ideas from them to drive growth.

The event, held on a virtual platform, extended for almost two-and-a-half hours. It witnessed participation of around 40 chief executive officers (CEOs) from the oil and gas sector, with around 28 leaders presenting their views to the Prime Minister.

Each industry leader spoke for an average of around two to three minutes. Key speakers included top executives from Rosneft, BP, Total, Lyondell Basell, Tellurian, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes, JERA, Emerson and X-Coal.

The event was organised by NITI Aayog and ministry of petroleum and natural gas.

Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber (CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company or Adnoc) said India is UAE’s key trading partner and it is the first country to have participated in the strategic petroleum reserves (SPR) by India. It is actively looking at more such opportunities. Adnoc is also a partner in the planned $44 billion Ratnagiri refinery. Jaber expressed full commitment towards meeting India’s energy requirements.

Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, minister of state for energy in Qatar and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, said the country is committed to having a long-term LNG supply pact with India.

India imports around 8.5 million tonnes per annum of liquefied natural gas from Qatar under two long-term contracts. He welcomed plans to have investments to the tune of $60 billion in gas infrastructure in India and said the move will drive India towards a low-carbon economy.

Igor Sechin, chairman of Russia’s Rosneft, said his company has already invested almost $15 billion in Essar Energy and is already looking for more such opportunities in the Indian oil and gas market. He also thanked the country’s state-run companies that participated in oil and gas projects in Russia. Bernard Looney (CEO BP Plc, UK) appreciated India’s solar mission and said it showcases the country’s commitment towards COP-21 pledge. Looney said that BP is now moving from an oil company to an integrated energy company. He added that the company has already made $10 billion worth of investments in India and is committed to more.

Patrick Pouyanne (chairman & CEO, Total S.A., France) hoped for bigger plans in biofuels and the hydrogen sector. The company showcased its existing gas sector tie-ups with the Adani group in LNG and city gas distribution. Only three Indian business leaders presented their views during the event. They included Mukesh Ambani (chairman & managing director, Reliance Industries), Anil Agarwal (chairman of Vedanta Resources) and Shashi Shankar (chairman and managing director of ONGC).

Ambani congratulated Modi for the lowest fatality and highest recovery rate on Covid and his fiscal prudence. He also lauded the government on agriculture (farm bills), labour, health and education reforms. He said RIL would like to collaborate with companies on sectors like hydrogen and renewables.

Agarwal said his company has already invested $22 billion in the Indian market and is producing 200,000 barrels a day of oil. It is targeting around 1 million barrels per day. He appreciated India’s upstream reforms like marketing, pricing freedom, monetisation of explored fields and the CBM policy. He said India has a liberal fiscal and regulatory regime.

Modi woos investors

The Prime Minister highlighted during the meet that the core of the government’s policy is providing equitable access to clean, affordable and sustainable energy to all Indians.

For this, the country has adopted an integrated approach. He underlined that with the government taking a series of policy measures to make India an attractive investment destination, there are tremendous opportunities in the energy sector in the country. India now allows 100 per cent FDI in exploration and production projects and has permitted 49 per cent FDI in public sector refining under the automatic route. These reforms are translating into increased FDI flow in the sector, he said.

He added that the country is taking steps towards becoming a gas-based economy and said that a gas pipeline network is being developed to achieve ‘One Nation One Gas Grid’. He also talked about efforts towards expanding city gas distribution networks to assist the supply of cleaner cooking and transportation fuels.