Abu Dhabi, Nov 15 (IANS): India will have "massive additional" areas for oil exploration and production by 2025, said Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and Housing and Urban Affairs, at an event here.
"As far as the government of India is concerned, we are going to step on the accelerator in terms of exploration and production in a very big way," Puri said after opening the India pavilion at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC) on Monday.
India will double its oil and gas exploration acreage in the northeast part of the country.
"In the northeast, we will increase the area under E and P (exploration and production) from 30,000 square km to 60,000 square km," he said.
The minister said that India aims to expand its gas pipeline network to 34,000 km.
"This means $60 billion investment in gas pipeline infrastructure alone, increasing the refining capacity from 250 million metric tonnes to 400 million metric tonnes per annum by 2030 and gas mix from 6 per cent to 15 per cent," he said.
The ADIPEC returns as a face-to-face and in-person event presenting the global energy industry with its first opportunity to discuss the impact of the key decisions of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), and define the energy agenda for the next three decades.
The minister said that at the COP26, Prime Minister Narendra Modi committed to hit net-zero carbon emissions by 2070.
"At the Glasgow COP26 Summit, the Prime Minister made some very bold announcements and committed us to net zero by 2070," he said.
At the ADIPEC, Puri will be engaging in bilateral meetings with his counterparts.
"The last year hasn't been easy as the Covid-19 pandemic subjected us to confront challenges, which were not experienced for a long time. This is one of the major global events. I am delighted to be here," he said.
Hosted by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), ADIPEC welcomes more than 30 government ministers from around the world, which is a record number for the largest and most influential global energy forum.