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Informist, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025

 

--Oil minister: Attractive prices, not goodwill, must boost use of biofuels

--CONTEXT: Oil Minister Puri speaking at India Energy Week 2025 

 

NEW DELHI –  To encourage the adoption of ethanol blends, the government should keep prices of biofuels attractive than conventional fuel, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said Tuesday. "If green energy prices are out of range than other cheap energy, then you are dependent on the goodwill of people," he said at the India Energy Week here.

 

Under the government's biofuel programme, oil companies are selling 20% ethanol-blended petrol or E20 to promote green mobility. However, the adoption of flex-fuel vehicles that can run on 100% ethanol is slow as it is dependent on people's "conscience", Puri said.

 

On renewable sources of energy, Puri said India would achieve the target of producing 5 million tonnes of hydrogen before 2030. "I believe there will be such a shift to green hydrogen and work is going on at a frantic pace," he said.

 

While talks for long-term deals for liquified natural gas are on, Puri emphasised the need for orderly green energy transitions. "I already have a commitment to take LNG from 6% to 15% in my energy mix. Therefore, we want to sign long-term deals. We are in the market, that is a given. What I would like to see is orderly transitions with no zigzags," he said.

 

Last week India renewed its existing deal, which was to end in 2028, with Qatar for importing liquified natural gas, Puri said. The deal will see Qatar supply 7.5 million tonnes of LNG annually till 2048. Qatar is working towards raising LNG production from 77 million tonnes to 160 million tonnes, Qatar's Minister of State for Energy Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, who attended the event, said.

 

Though Puri stressed on the adoption of biofuels and renewable fuel sources, he said oil and gas will continue to play a pivotal role in developing energy storage. To promote the exploration and production of oil and gas, Puri launched the 10th round of Open Acreage Licensing Policy bidding at the event. This is the largest bid round in terms of acreage offered, with 25 blocks on offer, he said. Of the 25 blocks, six blocks are onland, six in shallow water, one in deep water, and 12 in ultra-deep water areas.  End

 

Reported by Afra Abubacker, Priyasmita Dutta, and Pallavi Singhal

Edited by Ashish Shirke

 

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