Affordable energy is the need of the hour: Hardeep Singh Puri
Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi, UAE
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Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, who inaugurated the India Pavilion at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC 2023) in the UAE capital on October 2, had an eventful schedule, meeting with energy ministers and leaders at the global event.
Held under the patronage of the UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the four-day event comes ahead of the crucial COP28 meet hosted by the UAE later this year.
India is among the 30 countries with dedicated pavilions at ADIPEC which hosts 160,000 participants from 164 countries.
The largest gathering of Ministers and energy sector leaders brings together the international energy industry to discuss and collaborate on energy-related technology, innovation and digitalization under the theme of ‘Decarbonizing. Faster. Together.’
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Strengthening India-UAE partnership
The Minister met with HE Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and COP28 President Designate with whom he had a fruitful discussion on the growing energy partnership between India-UAE on October 4.He wished the UAE a successful COP 28 that kicks off on November 30.
At ADIPEC, Minister Puri also conducted a series of interviews with international media including one with Bloomberg where he was very forthright with his views on global access to energy.
“If you want to raise the price of oil and then expect everything will remain hunky-dory, it won’t. There is a law of unintended consequences there. If the 2008 situation repeats itself, I don’t know where this is going to come out.”
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The Minister took part in a session on ‘Energy Talks: India’s energy industry: from diversification to economic growth’ at the event on October 3 and met with dignitaries and industry leaders.
Minister Puri also held discussions with HE Suhail Al Mazrouei, UAE’s Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, about the growing energy partnership between India and the UAE and avenues for future collaborations.
Energy for social upliftment
The Minister met OPEC Secretary General, HE Haitham Al Ghais, and discussed the global energy scenario. With India importing about 60% of its crude oil worth $101 billion & other Petroleum products from OPEC members, the Minister highlighted how ensuring access to affordable energy is a must for social upliftment.
He pointed out how during pandemic, when crude oil prices crashed, the world came together to stabilize the prices to make it sustainable for the producers. The Minister said the world is at the cusp of economic recession and slowdown, and oil producers need to show same sensitivity towards the consuming countries.
While the Minister said it's the sovereign right of the oil producing and exporting countries to decide the production capacity, it also needs to be kept in mind that all of this is subject to the doctrine of consequences - intended and unintended.
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Enhanced confidence in CEPA
With India and UAE committed to leading the charge for a more sustainable future, the visit marks a crucial step in the two nations’ unified approach. The Minister expressed confidence that India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) will boost bilateral trade & investments between the two countries to $100 billion within 5 years.
UAE is one of India’s top 5 largest crude oil sourcing destinations since 2018-19 accounting for 9.4% of India’s total crude oil imports.
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the world now looks at India with hope and confidence as the third largest energy consumer, he added. “India’s rising energy demand and vast opportunities in entire hydrocarbon value chain will continue to provide fuel for future economic growth.”
Furthering the strong bond between the two nations, is India’s robust association with ADNOC Group, its most trusted and reliable partner in the region. The UAE being India's third largest trading partner, the Minister said the bilateral relations has the potential to shape regional geopolitics.
India’s growth-energy correlation
In his session on ‘Energy Talks: India’s energy industry: from diversification to economic growth’ with Moderator (Anchor and Correspondent CNBC) Dan Murphy, the current Minister – an author and former diplomat - discussed how the growth-energy correlation is evident in India as it is now the world’s third largest energy consumer. The Minister expressed concern over the impact of the high price of $100 a barrel of oil on other developing nations, even as he remained robust about India’s response to the same.
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As India continues on a high trajectory of growth spurred by rapid urbanization and industrialization to become a US$ 5 trillion economy by 2025, the World Bank projects that India will grow at 6.3% in 2023-24. India may be providing around 15% of global growth in 2023. A snapshot on Indian energy sector
India’s energy demand will continue to provide fuel for future economic growth, as it is bound to grow exponentially, said Minister Puri, who shared a snapshot of India’s energy sector.
? India is world’s 3rd largest consumer of oil
? 3rd largest LPG consumer
? 4th largest LNG importer
? 4th largest refiner
? 4th largest automobile market
Towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat in the energy sector
With its large population and a dynamic economy, India is galvanising its domestic energy sector to be energy self-reliant (Aatmanirbhar Bharat) and is also accelerating its clean energy transition, having announced the goal to become Net Zero by 2070.
India’s participation at ADIPEC 2023 is a testament to its commitment towards being part of a solution driven agenda to accelerate clean energy transition and decarbonisation.
Several major and startup Indian energy entities from the public and private sectors including several MSMEs are showcasing the potential and opportunities of India’s robust energy sector at the global event.
Watch the Indian Pavilion at ADIPEC here:
A series of bilateral meetings with industry leaders
Minister Puri engaged in a number of high-level bilateral meetings at ADIPEC. He met Olivier Le Peuch, CEO, SLB, the world's largest oilfield service company and discussed opportunities for leveraging SLB's expertise and experience to boost India's capacities in the PNG sector. “We look forward to ways for further collaboration between Schlumberger and Indian E&P companies in areas of analysis and marketing of geological data apart from more intensive participation in oilfield services business,” he said.
He also met Anders Opedal, CEO, Equinor, and discussed emerging trends and developments in the field of energy and explored opportunities of partnership between the energy company and Indian industries.
“We discussed how India’s vast coastline presents huge opportunity in offshore wind sector and encouraged the company to participate in bidding for 1 million sq km of ‘no go’ area now opened for exploration.”
With 25% of global energy demand growth in 2020-40 expected to come from India, the world realises great potential the country holds.
The Minister also met the Chairman & CEO of Total Energies Patrick Pouyanne where they discussed ways to expedite the Mozambique project, India’s largest energy investment abroad.
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During his meeting with Murray Auchincloss, Interim CEO of BP, the duo discussed the recent developments in global energy markets and ways to further strengthen BP’s existing presence in the upstream and downstream energy sector.
In another high-profile meeting, Lorenzo Simonelli, CEO of Baker Hughes, and the Minister had an insightful discussion regarding energy technologies across the supply chain. During his meeting with Ms. Vicki Hollub, President & CEO of Oxy Petroleum, they discussed opportunities to utilise the competencies of Oxy for a stronger partnership within the growing energy sector of India.
Events such as ADIPEC serve as not just a platform to bring the energy sector leadership together, but also focuses on rallying global collaboration to build a sustainable future energy future.
As Minister Puri observed, while providing a ringside view of the Indian energy sector, “You need to have a situation where there is demand, where there is production and there is consumption. We have a situation where the transitioning to green energy is taking place at a pace faster than what we had anticipated.”