PDF: 2962 pages, 5.2 MB - Bay Area Council Economic Institute

Global Reach
global majors is minimal, such as Russia, Sudan, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Angola, Libya, Egypt, Syria,
Qatar, Ivory Coast, Australia, Cuba, Vietnam, and Myanmar.
Reliance Industries is currently producing 20,000 bpd of oil in Yemen and has exploration efforts
underway in Oman, East Timor, and offshore Colombia. It has also negotiated energy
partnerships in Angola, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, and Nigeria.
Because of Ministry approvals required throughout the bid process, government pressures to
keep domestic end user prices low, and high dividends that profitable operations must pay back
into the public treasury rather than reinvest, India’s public sector oil firms are generally at a
disadvantage in international bidding and have lost several competitions to China. In particular,
India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) has faced tough competition from China and has
been outbid by China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) in Angola and Sudan.
Natural gas is a relatively new but fast-growing energy source in India, used increasingly for
power generation. Compressed natural gas (CNG) was mandated by the Supreme Court in 2001
for use in Delhi buses, taxi, and three-wheelers; other cities have since followed suit.
India Natural Gas Sector Profile 2002–2008, in Billions of Cubic Meters
(provisional)
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007–08
Reserves 751 854 923 1101 1075 1055
Production 31.39 31.96 31.76 32.20 31.75 32.27
Consumption 29.96 30.91 30.78 31.33 30.79 31.35
Source: Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
Natural gas supply and demand within India have been closely aligned. As with oil, however,
demand has begun to outpace supply as gas becomes the preferred source for residential, industrial,
and utility users, and as tapping new gas reserves requires investment and technological capability
beyond what a centralized, overtaxed and overregulated domestic industry can provide.
Pipeline infrastructure throughout India is also still relatively undeveloped. Natural gas use is
projected to grow by 5% annually through 2030, to 10-11% of India’s energy consumption from
the current 8%. In place of new exploration and drilling, gas imports are rising. Gas Authority of
India, Ltd. (GAIL) has begun work on a National Gas Grid that will likely focus on imported
liquefied natural gas (LNG). LNG imports are forecast to reach as much as 60 million tons
annually by 2012, comparable to Japan’s imports today.
Nuclear
India has 17 nuclear reactors in operation, producing a combined 4,120 megawatts of electricity
in six states—Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh in the north, and Maharashtra, Karnataka,
and Tamil Nadu in the south. All of the plants have been developed and are operated by the
178