India to see $118 bn investment in oil & gas sector

India will see a massive investment of USD 118 billion in oil and gas exploration as well as in setting up of natural gas infrastructure in the next few years as the country prepares to meet the needs of a fast growing economy, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Monday.

As much as USD 58 billion will be invested by 2023 in oil and gas exploration and production, while, another USD 60 billion will be put in creation of natural gas infrastructure such as pipelines, import terminals and city gas distribution networks by 2024.

Speaking at the India Energy Forum of CERAWeek conference here, he said India’s energy transition level is in line with global trends.

“Today India is sixth largest economy in the world and third largest energy consumer after US and China. India will be the key driver of global energy demand in coming decades,” he said.

India, he said, offers stable polity with reform focused approach and a strong institutional framework for catalysing the investments.

Pradhan said his government has overhauled the policy framework to revitalize oil and gas ecosystem and establish a conducive business environment, prompting International Energy Agency to state that investments in energy sector in India had recorded the second highest growth in the world during 2015 to 2018.

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