Market-driven pricing key for energy sector: PM

Moily says partner being searched for TAPI project

Amid the government receiving flak for high energy prices, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said technology and market-driven pricing were vital to improve growth in the energy sector.

Addressing delegates at the eighth Asian Gas Partnership Summit here, Singh said by 2030, India could become the third-largest energy consumer globally. “The government is committed to ensure policy remains stable and regulation is ideal for investment,” he said, adding there was a need to encourage domestic and global players to explore onshore and offshore opportunities. Recently, Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily had addressed an investors’ meeting in Mumbai.

The government is preparing to auction oil and gas blocks under the New Exploration and Licensing Policy.

At the summit here on Tuesday, Moily said soon, a new company would be floated to execute the much-delayed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline, adding the four countries were scouting for a lead partner to ensure the project was executed. “Timely execution of the TAPI project is crucial to ensure the beneficiary countries obtain gas at affordable and stable prices to sustain economic development, with desired levels of growth,” he said.

He highlighted the increasing share of natural gas in India’s overall energy supply mix.