NEW DELHI: Amid a rebound in global crude prices and OPEC considering extending production cuts, petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday called for “reasonable and responsive” oil pricing, saying it is time the producers also listened to the consumers as the days of monopoly are over.
For heft and to underline India’s position in the global energy architecture, Pradhan said the country’s share of total global primary energy demand will nearly double to 11% by 2040 on the back of strong economic growth and its energy consumption will rise at 3% annually till then — the fastest among major economies.
India currently accounts for only 6% of the world’s primary energy consumption and the per capita consumption of energy is still a third of the global average. “But all that is changing rapidly,” he said, adding that despite the transition to renewables and other alternate energy sources, India’s oil demand would double and gas demand would treble by 2040.
