Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking at the India Energy Week 2026, highlighted India’s energy sector’s investment potential of $500 billion. He emphasized the country’s focus on exploration, with plans to increase investments in oil and gas to $100 billion by the end of the decade. India aims to expand exploration to one million square km, with over 170 exploration blocks already awarded.
PM Modi noted significant reforms in the exploration sector, including reducing restrictions and incorporating suggestions from previous India Energy Week editions. He mentioned India’s refining capacity, ranking second globally and aiming to become the top country. The current refining capacity is around 260 million metric tonnes per annum, with efforts to increase it beyond 300 MMT per annum.
India’s rising LNG demand and target to meet 15% of energy demand through LNG were highlighted by the Prime Minister. He stressed the importance of developing the LNG value chain and domestic LNG transportation vessels. Large investment opportunities exist in constructing LNG terminals at Indian ports and in regasification projects.
Emphasizing the need for a vast pipeline network for LNG transportation, PM Modi mentioned the expansion of city gas distribution networks across Indian cities. He pointed out the growing demand for petrochemical products in India due to its large population and expanding economy, offering substantial growth opportunities for investors. The Prime Minister highlighted ongoing reforms in various sectors to create an investor-friendly environment and strengthen the energy sector ecosystem.
