Livemint | India can fulfill world's 25% fuel demand by 2040: Hardeep Singh Puri

Jan 10,2023

Centre has claimed that India will contribute 25% of global fuel demand by 2040 and it targets to achieve 20% ethanol blending in petrol by 2025. 

Union minister for petroleum and natural gas Hardeep Singh Puri said on Tuesday said currently, India is dependent on imports for 85% of its oil needs and 50% of its natural gas requirements. But, it has already started mixing ethanol extracted from sugarcane and other agri-produce in petrol, which will eventually reduce its reliance on imports. 

Puri said ethanol blending in petrol has increased from 1.53% in 2013-14 to 10.17% in 2022 and “government’s updated target is to achieve 20% ethanol blending in petrol from 2030 to 2025-26."

Giving information on E20 fuel, the petroleum minister noted that the phased rollout of E20 fuel would start on 1st April 2023. “The E20 fuel is a 20% blend of ethanol and 80% of fossil-based fuel. The planned introduction of E20 fuel aims to reduce the reliance on fossil-based fuels and to reduce vehicular emissions," he added.

Speaking about how India has increased its exports, Puri asserted, “India increased the number of its crude oil suppliers from 27 countries in 2006-07 to 39 in 2021-22 and attributed the growth to the addition of new suppliers like Columbia, Russia, Libya, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea while India strengthened its relationship with countries like US and Russia."

Puri said the government is targeting to increase India's exploration acreage to 0.5 million square kilometres by 2025 and 1 million sq km by 2030.

Puri claimed that India's four-plank energy security strategy revolves around diversifying sources of supplies, a renewed focus on finding and producing more oil and gas domestically, switching to alternate energy sources and using gas and green hydrogen as a pathway to the energy transition.

"India has been able to navigate through the most formidable energy crisis the world has seen since the 1973 oil crisis thanks to its four-pronged energy security strategy -- diversification of energy supplies, increasing exploration and production footprint, using alternate energy sources, and meeting energy transition through the gas-based economy, green hydrogen and EVs," he said.