Industry leaders from across the world attended an interaction with PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday invited the CEOs and experts of the global oil and gas sector to partner with India in exploration and development of the sector in the country.

Prime Minister Modi interacted with them via video conferencing during which he stated that India was a land of openness, optimism and opportunities and was brimming with new ideas, perspectives and innovation.

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 Prime Minister 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. PM Modi 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 talked about the current and potential gas infrastructure development including pipelines, city gas distribution and LNG regasification terminals.

Prime Minister Modi 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.

CEOs and experts of the global oil and gas sector praised several recent achievements of the government towards improving energy access, energy affordability and energy security.

They appreciated the leadership of the Prime Minister towards the transition to cleaner energy in India, through visionary and ambitious goals.

The oil and gas sector leaders 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 also gave their inputs and suggestions about further promotion of clean growth and sustainability.