Oil minister: India will be a refining hub and will rely on fossil fuels up to 2040.

Hardeep Singh Puri, India's Oil Minister, said on Tuesday that India will continue to be the world's third largest oil consumer and importer until at least 2040. The country is also positioning itself to become a major refining center.

Puri, speaking at a Bengaluru refining conference, said that while global refineries are shrinking as the energy transition proceeds at an unpredictable rate, India will still rely on fossils fuels up until 2040.

Puri stated that "our existing refineries would increase their capacity, and also serve as regional hubs for other countries."

India, which is the third largest emitter of greenhouse gasses in the world, has committed to achieving a carbon-free target by 2070. It has set a goal of 500 gigawatts of renewable energy for 2030.

Puri reiterated India's intention to increase its refinery capacity by up to 81%, from the current 249 mtpa or 5 million barrels a day (bpd). He did not give a timeframe.

The Minister said that there are "robust conversations" between state-owned refineries and private refiners about scaling beyond 310 mtpa. This could be achieved before 2028.

Puri stated that smaller refineries are no longer economically viable.

Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd. (BPCL) has been exploring the possibility of building a new oil refinery with a capacity between 180,000 and 300,000 bpd in northern Uttar Pradesh or southern Andhra Pradesh.

Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd is also expected to begin operations at its Barmer refinery, which will produce 180,000 barrels per day (bpd), in the desert of Rajasthan by late this year or very early next year. Sethuraman N.R. and Yagnoseni D. Das, both in Bengaluru, contributed to the report. Savio D’Souza edited.

(source: Reuters)