India is leveraging its position as a buyer of hydrocarbons to forge strategic partnerships according to Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan.

Speaking at the PETROTECH-2019 summit, Pradhan said, “We look forward for continuous cooperation and collaboration with other countries to help maintain a stable oil and gas market globally. India has had long standing trade relations with major oil and gas producers in the world.”

“This relation, till recently, was only a buyer-seller relationship. Under the guidance of Prime Minister Modi, we have been able to covert our traditional buyer-seller engagements into strategic partnerships through bilateral investments,” he said.

Dynamic market

Commenting on the shift in energy sources and consumption in the world, Pradhan said that there is a big shift in energy consumption from Europe to Asia.

He enlisted the major transitions such as the United States becoming the world’s largest oil and gas producer after the shale revolution and solar energy emerging as a competitive and most sustainable energy alternative.

Pradhan also highlighted that the share of Natural Gas in the global energy mix rising, the convergence of cheaper renewable energy technologies, digital applications and the rising role of electricity forming the basis for achieving many of the world’s sustainable development goals.

Pradhan also said that there is going to be a significant increase in the energy demand over the next 20 years and oil and gas are likely to remain prominent fuels in the global energy basket. However, given the increasing emission and CO2 levels globally, “It is also important that we take care of challenges arising out of global warming. This calls for expanding the supply and availability of energy in a safe and environmentally responsible and sustainable manner,” Pradhan said.

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