India seeks global investments in energy sector: Dharmendra Pradhan

New Delhi [India] October 11 (ANI): Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said that in a bid to cut imports in energy sector, India wants to attract foreign investors to USD 300 billion worth of energy projects planned for the next decade.

India, the world's third biggest oil consumer, ships in about 80 percent of its oil needs, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to reduce to 67 percent by 2020.

The planned projects will include increasing the country's refining capacity, oil and gas block exploration, and developing gas infrastructure, including for transporting LNG and regasification.

"In the next 10 years, India will offer projects worth USD 300 billion to foreign companies keen to invest in the country," Pradhan told an energy conference in New Delhi on Tuesday.

India's oil and gas output has been stagnant for years while its fuel demand has increased with economic expansion, hitting federal finances with an import bill worth billions of dollars.

The ruling dispensation at the Centre has been taking steps to unlock the country's vast energy reserves and boost foreign investment in the sector and has relaxed rules, including on pricing and marketing. (ANI)