India Energy Week kickstarts in Goa on Tuesday amid geopolitical turmoil

The country is hosting the fourth edition of IEW, bringing global energy ministers, industry leaders, policymakers, financial institutions, academia and technology providers on a common platform

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) will kickstart its flagship event, India Energy Week (IEW), in Goa on Tuesday, amid an unprecedented rise in geopolitical turmoil and energy security concerns.

 

The four-day event, which will host 500 global industry leaders and may witness participation of 75,000 delegates, comes at a time when securing energy supplies has taken the centre stage in global energy discussions, particularly for India, which imports almost 90 per cent of its oil and routinely navigates trade tensions.

 

India is hosting the fourth edition of IEW, bringing together global energy ministers, industry leaders, policymakers, financial institutions, academia and technology providers on a common platform. The event will be held from January 27 to 30 at the ONGC Advanced Training Institute (ATI).

 

The conference is expected to provide an opportunity for industry veterans from around the world to exchange ideas on strengthening energy security, catalysing investment and advancing practical decarbonisation pathways. On the domestic front, it will witness the signing of several crucial agreements between Indian companies and global majors, primarily in the oil and gas sector, with growing interest in the renewable energy space.

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will engage with 13 global CEOs, five private-sector leaders from India, and nine heads of Indian public-sector undertakings. Participants include representatives from TotalEnergies, bp, Vitol, HD Hyundai, HD KSOE, Aker, LanzaTech, Vedanta, IEF, Excelerate, Wood Mackenzie, Trafigura, Praj, ReNew and Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL).

 

Ministers from 17 countries, including the UAE, Canada, the Netherlands, Oman, Brunei, Myanmar and Tanzania, have confirmed their participation, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said. International organisations such as the International Energy Forum, BIMSTEC and the Eurasian Economic Union are also expected to participate.

 

During the event, state-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) will sign a term contract with Brazil’s Petrobras to purchase 12 million barrels (bbl) of crude oil for $780 million. Other agreements include collaboration between Bharat PetroResources Ltd (BPRL) and Shell for global upstream opportunities; a partnership involving Oil India Ltd (OIL), Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) and TotalEnergies for LNG sourcing; and a joint initiative by NRL and TotalEnergies to set up a 200-kilotonne sustainable aviation fuel project in Odisha.

 

The event will also see the signing of two shipbuilding contracts involving Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Mitsui OSK Lines and South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries.

 

In the renewable energy space, the Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA) will launch a white paper on biofuels financing, along with a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) microsite. The International Energy Agency (IEA) and India’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) will also release the India Bioenergy Outlook 2030 during the event.

 

At this year’s IEW, India will host 600 exhibitors, including 180 international companies, and more than 500 global speakers across 120 conference sessions. Key themes include securing affordable, accessible and sustainable energy in a turbulent world; the energy transition and the growing significance of natural gas; investment requirements in the upstream sector; and the increasing importance of renewable energy.

 

Last year’s edition of IEW also witnessed the signing of several significant deals, including the commencement of a crude oil supply term deal between India and Brazil. BPCL announced a joint venture with the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), while ONGC signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Tata Power Renewable Energy to explore collaboration in battery energy storage systems.