In a world full of geopolitical uncertainties, and the resultant ups and downs in commodity prices, the energy strategy of India has been designed — and is being continually fine-tuned — to strengthen three pillars: availability, affordability, and sustainability. To that, one might add a fourth pillar: self-sufficiency, through the indigenous development of biofuels and green fuels.
The upcoming India Energy Week 2025 in New Delhi will show the progress achieved by India’s 4-plank energy security strategy (launched in January 2023), which is based on diversifying supplies; increasing exploration and production (E&P); developing alternative energy sources; and undertaking an energy transition through a gas-based economy, green hydrogen, and more.
A few months before this year’s IEW — the third edition of this global event — it was stated by Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, that India had widened its fuel procurement base, going up to 39 suppliers from the earlier 27.
“We are now buying from 39 sources, earlier we were buying from 27. Enough oil available and we have enough choices to exercise,” said the minister in October 2024. Nations like Colombia, Libya, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea are among the relatively new suppliers.
India has a long-standing relationship with Russia and has been buying Russian crude all throughout the Russia-Ukraine war, even as the West moved to impose some sanctions on Russian hydrocarbon exports.
India also relies on oil and gas imports from the United States, and these imports are likely to increase with the arrival of US President Donald Trump in the White House. A January 21 report by Reuters — a day after Trump was sworn in — quoted Union minister Puri as saying, “There is a possibility of more energy purchase between India and US. More US energy coming into the market is welcome.”
As India moves to fulfil its economic growth targets — the fuel-intensive manufacturing sector is a key element of growth — the country is preparing for a surge in demand, while simultaneously dealing with global shifts in fuel prices and availability.
USD 100bn investment scope in domestic E&P
In order to cut its fuel bill and improve self-sufficiency, India has also invested in domestic exploration and production. Though not known to be a hydrocarbon-rich nation, India does have some reserves.
The website of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said: “As on 1st April, 2018, in-place hydrocarbon volume of 10680 million tonnes of oil and oil equivalent gas has been established through exploration by ONGC, OIL and Private/JV companies. About 74 per cent of resources are under ‘yet to discover’ category. Out of 10,680 MMT of oil and oil equivalent gas of in-place volumes, the ultimate reserves which can be produced are about 4,095 MMT of oil and oil equivalent gas. The balance recoverable reserves are of the order of 1,812 MMT of oil and oil equivalent gas.”
In July 2024, at the inaugural energy dialogue titled ‘Urja Varta 2024’ in New Delhi, minister Puri said that India could offer an investment opportunity of some USD 100 billion by 2030 in the E&P industry.
A PIB release quoted the minister as saying, “Only 10 per cent of our sedimentary basin area is under exploration today. After the award of blocks under the forthcoming Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) Rounds, it will increase to 16 per cent by end-2024.”
Puri added, “The government is doing its part to catalyse investments in E&P. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) has instituted sweeping reforms, empowering stakeholders to contribute to our nation’s progress.”
The Union minister said at the event that the government intended to increase India’s exploration acreage to 1 million sq. km. by 2030.
E20 leading the way to energy transition
Alongside hydrocarbon exploration, India has been developing biofuels, such as the organic compound ethanol, which is mixed with petrol and sold daily at fuel stations around the country.
E20, a fuel blend of 20 per cent ethanol and 80 per cent petrol, cuts billions of dollars from India’s fuel import bill and also promotes self-sufficiency. At the inauguration of IEW last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that 9,000 fuel stations in India were, at that point, selling ethanol-blended petrol. This, he added, was part of the government’s energy transition goals.
According to what minister Puri had said in January 2023, India had set a target of 20 per cent ethanol blending by 2025. He said then that India had increased ethanol blending in petrol from 1.53 per cent in 2013-14 to 10.17 per cent in 2022, and that the country had brought forward its target to achieve an E20 blend from 2030 to 2025-26.
The phased rollout of E20 began on 1 April, 2023, and by the time IEW 2024 opened in Goa, this E20 blend was already available in thousands of outlets around India.
In order to quicken the energy transition, Puri had said two years ago that the government was setting up five 2G ethanol biorefineries: at Panipat in Haryana; Bathinda in Punjab; Bargarh in Odisha; Numaligarh in Assam; and Davangere in Karnataka. Ethanol can be made from organic substances such as sugarcane, paddy straw, bamboo etc, all available in abundance in India.
