Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said India successfully navigated through the ongoing crisis despite a shortage of food, fertiliser, and fuel but it is not out of the crisis yet.
"India was able to navigate its way through the energy crisis in an organised manner and with a degree of confidence. There was no shortage of fuel. We are not out of the crisis yet, but are equipped to manage for the next few months," he said while addressing the inaugural session of the 25th Energy Technology Meet on Thursday, September 15.
He said energy consumption is a very good pointer to how the country is growing. "As India opened up from the COVID lockdowns, crude prices went up from $19 to $120 due to various global factors," he said.
On the government's effort to increase domestic oil production, he said that 1 million sq ft of the sedimentary area had been released for exploration. "The government has navigated through energy availability, security and affordability," Puri said.
The former diplomat said that his ministry was looking at a pan-India relocation to revive refineries. Expressing disappointment about the failure of the revival of Ratnagiri refinery, Puri said the government missed the bus due to political challenges.
Puri on BPCL divestment
Puri said the world is wedded to using tech and committed to making the transition from hydrocarbons to green and sustainable energy. He said India would soon have 20 percent biofuel blending in the next year or two and 90 million litres of ethanol made from agricultural waste by the end of this year.
"In the transition to green energy, many of us decided not to make any more investment into hydrocarbon, which was short-sighted," he said.
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First Published: Sept 15, 2022 1:30 PM IST
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