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Before moving to a closed door meeting with the Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, BP global chief executive Bob Dudley, along with RIL chief Mukesh Ambani reiterated their future investment plans in the state.
On the other hand, Dudley hinted at hoping for better market-based price for natural gas even as he met the Prime Minister a day before to seek clarity on gas policy.
While BP is working with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) for setting up an acetic acid plant in Gujarat, the BP-RIL joint venture has submitted proposal for Gujarat State Petronet Corporation (GSPC)'s LNG terminal in the state.
Speaking at the third convocation of Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University (PDPU), Dudley said, "It is one thing to have the right resources below the ground, it is another to have the right conditions above the ground. Here in India we have seen welcome moves for creating investment friendly conditions enabling legislators to place regulations in the right place and we hope to see more vibrant domestic energy sector evolve. In particular, we hope to see continued progress towards a market based price for natural gas which will help release domestic production, reduce imports and improve trade balance."
The PDPU convocation saw Dudley, Ambani and Modi sharing dais, following which it has been learnt that the trio had a closed door meeting on Gujarat's role in BP and RIL's future plans.
When asked about his views on the gas price issue, Dudley said, "Yesterday we had a lot of meetings in Delhi. The minister (of petroleum) will talk about (gas prices); I am here to talk about Gujarat."
Talking about BP's Gujarat plans, Dudley said, "Gujarat emphasises how the above ground factors largely based on good policy can make a major difference into lives of many people. Gujarat too features prominently in our growth plans as we are hoping to set up one of the world's largest acetic acid plant here in the state."
Dudley elaborated that BP was working with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) for an acetic acid plant of a capacity of over million tonnes at an investment of over a billion dollar near IOC's Koyali refinery.
"In addition, we are also looking at LNG re-gasification here with Reliance in Gujarat. We are one of the few companies who have submitted a proposal for a LNG terminal and re-gasification here," he added.
It needs to be mentioned here that the BP-RIL joint venture has bid for GSPC liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Gujarat.
"There has been a bid process that GSPC have gone through and we are one of the three shortlisted players and right now we are going through some due diligence," said Sashi Mukundan, region president and head of country, India, BP Exploration (Alpha) Ltd.
Stating certain statistics on energy needs, Dudley said that there will be a rise in demand for energy of another four billion tonnes of oil equivalent or an additional 35 per cent by 2030 and that's just 17 years away.
"And that is like adding seven new Indias to world energy production. We should recognise that rise in energy production also results in rise in carbon emission which makes energy conservation really important. Which is why, I am glad BP is involved with RIL in increasing India's supply of natural gas. We expect India's own energy consumption to more than double over the next 20 years," he added.
