The 22nd World Petroleum Congress was held in İstanbul (Turkey) on 9-13 July, 2017.
World Petroleum Council conducts the triennial World Petroleum Congress, covering all aspects of the industry including management of the industry and its social, economic and environmental impact.
In addition, outside stakeholders such as governments, other industry sectors, NGOs and international institutions have also joined in the dialogue.
Under the theme of “Bridges to Our Energy Future”, the Congress also stressed Turkey’s unique place in global energy policies and the importance of Turkey’s energy corridor and terminal role.
Indian Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan chaired a Ministerial Session on the subject “Current Economic Strategies in Indian Oil & Gas Sector”.
He also chaired a Plenary Session on ‘Supply and Demand Challenges for Oil, Gas and Products’ at the 22nd World Petroleum Congress at Istanbul, Turkey.
He flagged the importance of “Responsible Price” for crude oil for countries like India which would allow it to provide energy to the common people. He underlined that in today’s oversupplied market, it is important for producers to understand the perspective of consumers and demand centres and the changes that have taken place in these demand centres. As the security of supplies is an important factor for consumers, security of demand is equally important for producers.
Shri Pradhan held bilateral talks with Turkish Energy Minister Mr Berat Albayrak during which issues of bilateral energy cooperation including in renewable energy were discussed. The two Ministers agreed that they need to work together on few concrete projects in coming period in areas like E&P and downstream sectors. They also agreed to work together in third countries.
Later, the Minister launched an event on Hydrocarbon Exploration & Licensing Policy (HELP) as a part of process of promoting the upcoming oil & gas bidding rounds in India.
Rising middle class of emerging Asian countries like India will drive the demand for energy both in terms of electricity and cooking and transportation fuel. As incomes rise, demand for petrochemicals the raw materials for several of the lifestyle products will also increase.
For example in India the energy consumption is expected to grow to almost double by 2035. India is the only country where the demand will continue to rise for more than a decade.
As India grows and aspires to become a world leader, India represents a robust consumption and a market with ready market access. Global primary energy consumption increased by just 1% in 2016. The growth in energy consumption in 2016 in India has been 5.4% and the total primary energy consumption was 723.9 million ton of energy equivalent. As per estimates, India is poised to account for one fourth of the incremental global energy demand between 2013 and 2040.
Coming to oil and gas consumption, India is the third largest consumer of oil and petroleum products in the world. At present, India imports about 80% of its total oil and gas requirement. India needs to cut down this number by increasing our production substantially. Prime Minister has given a target of reducing import dependence by 10% by 2022 and government is working towards that.