Partnerships are essential to meet the new challenges in the oil and gas sector, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said. .

“Such partnerships could result in outcomes like improved recovery from mature fields, exploitation of ultra-deep water energy reserves and progress in complex frontier areas.

“They could also help in exploitation of unconventional forms of energy, apart from addressing concerns about environmental degradation and climate change,” he said while inaugurating the 11th Petrotech event here on Sunday.

The global oil and gas industry today requires new technologies and processes, innovative thinking and creative business models to meet emerging challenges.

This is also critical to make India more self-sufficient in the field of energy. Currently, India ranks 7{+t}{+h} in terms of energy production but fourth in consumption. It is slated to become the third largest consumer by 2020, he said.

“This implies that we need to increase our energy supply by three to four times over the next two decades,” he added.

He told delegates that to bridge the gap between demand and supply, the Government is encouraging domestic and global companies to explore hydrocarbon-rich areas in the framework of a stable policy environment.

“We are also pursuing other options to achieve energy security. We have made a number of changes in our energy policy regime in the last few months,” he said.

shishir.s@thehindu.co.in

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