Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a roundtable with the CEOs of the major international oil and gas companies at the India Energy Week (IEW) 2024, which is India’s flagship programme on the oil and gas sector.

The second edition of the event, which is scheduled to be held from February 6-9 in Goa, is expected to witness participation from Energy Ministers of 17 countries, more than 35,000 delegates and 900 exhibitors. Besides, six countries including Russia, the US and Canada will have dedicated pavilions.

“India today on the energy front presents the picture of confidence of positive growth of solutions in many areas. IEW represents a golden opportunity to showcase these developments on the energy front and provide the platform for further development and growth in the energy sector,” Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said at a media interaction.

The Minister said that the Prime Minister will meet oil and gas CEOs at the event. Besides, there will also be an India-US investment roundtable.

The roundtable with the Prime Minister will largely focus on India’s efforts to open up its exploration & production (E&P) sector as well as its policy push to accelerate the clean energy transition and how these companies can invest in one of the fastest growing emerging economies, said an official source.

The Minister noted that a special ‘Make in India’ pavilion is being organised with more than 300 exhibitors to showcase innovative solutions Indian MSMEs are spearheading in the energy sector.

Building on the incredible success of the first edition of IEW, Puri said the duration and the number of strategic sessions of IEW 2024 have increased from 3 to 4 days. Around 44 per cent more sessions have been planned, including 46 strategic sessions and 46 technical sessions which is more than double the technical sessions in IEW 2023.

“Four new technical categories have been added including Shipping, Logistic & Supply Chain, Manufacturing & Industrialisation, Future Mobility and Mining & Minerals in line with domestic priorities”, he added.

Red sea crisis

On the red sea crisis, the Minister said that so far the situation of transporting Indian cargoes of crude oil has not been a cause of worry.

“What will happen is that if the tension continues then you find other routes and the freight charges go up. But, I am confident that the situation has not reached the point where we start worrying about it,” Puri added.

When asked whether the Red Sea issue will be discussed at the IEW, the Minister said “Will there be discussions on the side lines? Most certainly there will be discussions. I can’t as the host, which provides the platform, anticipate what the discussions will be. There will be 17 (Energy) ministers. I think you don’t only look to these platforms at any meeting. I am very confident that none of the major state actors wants an escalation of the situation. There are some non-state actors. I think we need to convince ourselves that they are acting on their own. But, I am convinced that everybody now wants to be able to bring the situation under relative calm.” 

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