Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri says India’s energy transition part of global story

Hardeep Singh Puri, the Union

Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs

and Petroleum and Natural Gas

stressed the importance of managing

the transition to cleaner fuels while

ensuring access to traditional fuels in

an orderly manner.

Recent petroleum sector reforms in

India, such as diversifying import

sources and modifying petrol pricing

procedures, have been crucial in

reducing the influence of swings in

global prices on domestic prices for

petrol and diesel. Puri emphasised

this when he took part in a ministerial

panel at IEW 2024 titled “Ensuring

energy security for nations and

industry in a VUCA world.”

The ministerial panel, also attended

by notable figures such as Saad

Sherida Al Kaabi, Energy Affairs

Cabinet Minister of Qatar, Vickram

Bharat, Minister of Natural Resources

of the Republic of Guyana, and OPEC

Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais,

delved into discussions regarding the

challenges and strategies for ensuring

energy security in an era

RECENT PETROLEUM SECTOR REFORMS IN INDIA, SUCH AS DIVERSIFYING IMPORT SOURCES AND MODIFYING PETROL PRICING PROCEDURES, HAVE BEEN CRUCIAL IN REDUCING THE INFLUENCE OF SWINGS IN GLOBAL PRICES ON DOMESTIC PRICES

characterised by volatility, uncertainty,

complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA).

Union Minister Puri emphasised

how crucial it is to control the switch

to cleaner fuels while making sure

that traditional fuels are available in a

systematic way. He emphasised the

necessity for a gradual transition and

argued against demonising fossil

fuels in favour of a reasonable and

realistic conversation.

The OPEC Secretary General,

Haitham Al Ghais, outlined the

various avenues for energy transition

and underlined the need for ongoing

investment in the production of fossil

fuels to keep up with the increasing

demand. “There are various ways that

energy might transfer. This is the way

energy transition should be viewed.

We need to invest hundreds of billions

of dollars over the next 20 years at

OPEC, and we are investing now,” he

stated. The Minister of State for

Energy Affairs of Qatar, Saad Sherida

Al Kaabi, issued a warning against

completely ignoring fossil fuels,

pointing out that renewable energy

sources are insufficient to meet the

world’s energy needs.

The Republic of Guyana’s Minister

of Natural Resources, Vickram

Bharat, praised the finding of fresh

hydrocarbon deposits offshore the

country and emphasised how they

could spur economic growth. The

discovery of a new hydrocarbon off

the coast of Guyana has drawn

attention to us. We have a pretty

straightforward policy. As soon as

possible, extract hydrocarbons from

the earth and use them to develop

traditional sectors. He said, “The

window on oil is closing, but not so