Gas Potential at the Bay of Bengal: Implications for India's Energy Security

摘要

The India Hydrocarbon Vision 2025 report, published by the Indian government in February 2000, painted a rather alarming picture of the Indian energy security situation.' It pointed out that India's requirements of oil and gas would increase significantly over the next twenty-five years to sustain the high growth rates of 8 to 10 per cent per annum to which the country was committed. It said that the country's domestic resources would not be able to meet these high demands, and that India's dependence on imported oil would increase from 65 per cent in 2000 to 85 per cent in 2025. Again, India's gas requirements would also increase significantly to fuel the needs of the power, fertilizer and industrial sectors and for domestic usage. The electric power sector was projected to account for 71 per cent of the total incremental growth in India's natural gas demand from 2000 to 2025.