India energy sector to offer $300bn opportunities in 10 yrs: Oil minister

India will offer foreign investors USD 300 billion worth of investment opportunities in energy projects over the next decade, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Tuesday.

India, which imports over 80 per cent of its oil needs, wants to cut its reliance on foreign oil by 10 per cent by 2022.

"In the next 10 years, India will offer projects worth USD 300 billion" for investment, he said at the India Energy Forum by CERA Week here.

Pradhan said on Monday Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with some of world's leading oil and gas industry leaders to exchange ideas on the energy sector in India.

“Lots of people told me that it's rare to find Igor Sechin of Rosneft, Ameen Nasser of (Saudi) Aramco and Bob Dudley of BP in one room.

“Many more global experts and investors gave their valuable input in this meeting and PM reiterated government's commitment to provide access of clean, affordable and sustainable energy to the section of population that still does not have access to it,” he said.

In the last 40 months, the government has undertaken several policy initiatives in the energy sector in line with Prime Minister's vision of energy access, efficiency, sustainability and security.

The government is focusing on the growth of energy infrastructure, through new pipelines, LNG terminals, and offshore gas development projects.

Stating that security through diversity of energy sources is also being pursued, he said adding India is now importing crude from the US.

“We are looking for new business models to diversify our electricity generation by combining gas and renewables and energy storage.

“We will diversify our vehicle fleet and make it more efficient and cleaner through modern fuel specifications, Electric Vehicles, and other alternatives like CNG and LNG,” he said.

Pradhan said the government is focusing on increasing access to clean cooking fuel through the PM Ujjwala Yojana. In the last 15 months, free LPG connections have been provided to over 3 crore households.

Also, the government has set the target to electrify 4 crore un-electrified households in the next 15 months.

In the last 40 months, the government has undertaken several policy initiatives in the energy sector in line with Prime Minister's vision of energy access, efficiency, sustainability and security, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said.