Reaffirming the government's commitment to make India "Aatmanirbhar" in the oil and gas sector, Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited Chief Executive Officers to partner with it in exploring and developing this sector in India.

In his interaction with the CEOs and Experts of the global oil and gas sector earlier today, via video conferencing, Modi said that India is a land of openness, optimism and opportunities and is brimming with new ideas, perspectives and innovation.

This is the sixth year in a row the Prime Minister is holding such an interaction with top global honchos of the oil and gas sector.

At today's interaction, Modi discussed in detail the reforms undertaken in the oil and gas sector in the last seven years, including the ones in exploration and licensing policy, gas marketing, policies on coal bed methane, coal gasification, and the recent reform in Indian Gas Exchange, adding that such reforms will continue with the goal to make India' Aatmanirbhar in the oil & gas sector'.

Talking about the oil sector, he said that the focus has shifted from 'revenue' to 'production' maximization. He also spoke about the need to enhance storage facilities for crude oil. He further talked about the rapidly growing natural gas demand in the country. He spoke of gas infrastructure's current and potential development, including pipelines, city gas distribution, and LNG regasification terminals.

Prime Minister recounted that since 2016, the suggestions provided in these meetings have been immensely useful in understanding the challenges faced by the oil and gas sector.

The interaction was attended by industry leaders from across the world, including Igor Sechin, Chairman & CEO, Rosneft; Amin Nasser, President & CEO, Saudi Aramco; Bernard Looney, CEO, British Petroleum; Daniel Yergin, Vice Chairman, IHS Markit; Olivier Le Peuch, CEO, Schlumberger Limited; Mukesh Ambani, Chairman & Managing Director, Reliance Industries Limited; Anil Agarwal, Chairman, Vedanta Limited, among others.

The CEOs lauded several recent government achievements towards improving energy access, energy affordability and energy security. An official release said that India is adapting fast to newer forms of clean energy technology and can play a significant role in shaping global energy supply chains.

They talked about ensuring sustainable and equitable energy transition and gave their inputs and suggestions about further promoting clean growth and sustainability, the release added.

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