Demand security equally important for oil firms: Pradhan in Istanbul

Says rising middle-class in emerging Asian countries will drive demand for energy sector

In wake of weak crude prices and subdued demand, India now looks to highlight that demand security will be equally important for oil producing companies. The country’s oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan once again pushed for ‘responsible pricing’ at the Petroleum Congress in Istanbul.
 

“He underlined that in today’s oversupplied market, it is important for producers to understand the perspective of consumers and demand centres and the changes that have taken place in these centres. As the security of supplies is an important factor for consumers, security of demand is equally important for producers,” said a statement from the Press Information Bureau (PIB) on Wednesday.
 

“A 17 per cent decline in global energy investment since 2014 has not yet raised major concerns about near-term energy supply adequacy, which have been eased by excess capacity in global fossil fuel supply and electricity generation in some markets, as well as cost deflation,” International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its World Energy Investment Report for 2017. The report further highlighted a 9 per cent increase in spending on energy efficiency and a 6 per cent increase in electricity networks were more than offset by a continuing drop in investment in upstream oil and gas, which fell by over a quarter in 2016.
 

“Addressing the plenary session, Pradhan said that rising middle-class of emerging Asian countries like India will drive the demand for energy both in terms of electricity, cooking and transportation fuel. Giving example of India he said that the energy consumption is expected to grow to almost double by 2035. India is the only country where the demand will continue to rise for more than a decade,” the PIB statement said. Pradhan was the chairperson for the Ministerial Session and Plenary Session on Supply and Demand Challenges for Oil, Gas and Products at 22nd World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul.
 

“Emerging markets account for almost all of the forecast global increase in demand in 2018, as demographic factors are supportive of rapid growth from a base of far lower per-capita consumption levels. China and India combined contribute two-thirds of the non-OECD Asian gain. Furthermore, so important are these two countries to global demand that they will contribute 44 per cent of the global growth forecast in 2018,”IEA said in its oil market report in June this year.
 

The oil minister also launched an event on India’s Hydrocarbon Exploration & Licensing Policy (HELP) in order to promote the upcoming oil & gas bidding rounds in India. The ministry has been promoting the policy with domestic and foreign potential bidders in order to improve investment in upstream facilities in India.