crude oil
Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Tuesday that the supply of crude oil is currently available in sufficient quantity in the international market and in case of disruption in any one source, alternative supply routes are also available. Addressing an interactive session here, Puri said that India is progressing rapidly in the export of refined petroleum products and in the last financial year, refined oil worth more than $45 billion was exported to more than 50 countries. Currently India ranks fourth in the world in terms of oil refining capacity and aims to reach the third position.
The country is buying crude oil from 40 countries
The Petroleum Minister said that at present India is importing crude oil from 40 countries. The country’s refineries are becoming more integrated with the petrochemical industry, increasing their efficiency and export competitiveness. Puri said that crude oil consumption could increase from the current level of 56 lakh barrels per day to 60 lakh barrels per day in the next few quarters. Puri said that today the situation is that there is sufficient oil supply in the global market. So if supply from one source is disrupted, alternative sources are available.
Global refining may decrease
He said that according to various international reports, about 101 out of 420 refineries in the world are at risk of closure in the next seven to 10 years. He said that this means that about 20 percent of global refining capacity could decrease. But India’s position is strong. Today we have about 25 to 258 million tonnes of annual refining capacity. Referring to the estimates of the International Energy Agency (IEA), he said that 25 percent of the increase in global energy demand in the coming two decades will come from India. However, in recent estimates this figure has been revised to 30 percent.