New Delhi: In the backdrop of the Israel-Palestine conflict and the crude oil rising $3 per barrel in a single day, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri has termed India’s goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2070 a “little too long-term.” Commenting on the rise in the prices of crude oil on Monday, the minister said that uncertainties in the oil market will lead to a faster energy transition. “I mean the amount of crude oil that is required to sustain the current levels of consumption which is about 100 or 102 mb/d (million barrels per day). That is available, but some 5 mb/d has been taken off the market. So that is the issue. It is a sovereign choice and we respect those who decide. But, equally when we have to exercise a choice we’ll take the (energy) transition quicker,” Puri told the media on the sidelines of the Energy Technology Meet on Monday.
Commenting on the role biofuels will play in ensuring energy security, he said, “We reached the target of 10 percent ethanol blending five months beforehand. Now we are at 12 percent, and the target of 20 percent by 2025 can be achieved easily.” The international community is serious and the governments are serious, he said, adding that suddenly biofuels are coming of age.
“Ultimately it is a choice. The choice will be between fossil fuels and biofuels. Biofuels will immune the world from the uncertainties which have unfolded in the recent days,” he said. Crude oil rose around $3 per barrel on Monday to touch $87 as military clashes between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas stepped up geopolitical tensions and uncertainties across the Middle East and raised concerns about supplies.
Commenting on how India, as the world’s third-largest importer of crude oil, will deal with the impact of the Israel-Palestine conflict, Puri said, “India will handle it (Israel-Palestine conflict) with maturity.”
“So far as energy is concerned, let us be absolutely clear that the place where the action is taking place is in many respects the centre of global energy. We will watch very carefully as we go along, we will navigate our way through this,” the minister said. These kinds of uncertainties have encouraged people to move into sustainable, cleaner fuels, he said, citing the ‘Global Biofuel Alliance’ as an example.
Speaking about the cut in production of crude oil by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), he said, “Today energy prices are crucial to global recovery. Somebody asked me what the threshold is. Last time in 2008 it crossed $100 a barrel. Can’t keep it above $100, it will not work,” Puri stated.