India offers partnership in African hydrocarbon sector

Seeking to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the petroleum space, India has called for partnership with companies in the African hydrocarbon sector.

“Our companies are interested in sourcing liquefied natural gas (LNG) as well as equity participation in existing and upcoming LNG terminals in Africa,” said Petroleum Minister Murli Deora. “We are a stable, long-term and growing market for Africa’s natural gas.”

Deora was speaking at the two-day India-Africa hydrocarbon conference here.

Expressing the desire of Indian companies to participate in upcoming exploration and production opportunities in Angola, Ghana, Sudan, Nigeria and Uganda, the minister said: “Our companies are also interested in other opportunities in producing blocks especially in Libya, Algeria and Egypt.”

ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), is currently planning to set up a new greenfield refinery in Nigeria. India’s share of oil and gas production from its overseas assets reached 8.8 million tonnes (mt) last year.

“Investment in Sudan has been mutually beneficial. India is keen to invest in many such ventures in Africa in the years ahead,” Deora said.

Currently, India is the world’s fifth largest consumer of energy and accounts for nearly 3.8 per cent of the world’s energy consumption. With the sustained economic growth rate of 7-8 per cent, the demand for energy has gone up.

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, who also attended the conference, said India was looking forward to an “equitable” outcome of the Copenhagen climate change summit.

“We remain hopeful of success at Copenhagen in achieving an outcome, containing substantive and enforceable commitments which are equitable and supportive of economic growth, especially in developing countries,” he said.

Krishna also added that India’s objective is to bring about changes in its energy basket, “while remaining mindful of our resources constraints, environmental concerns and imperatives of economic development”.