India's Top Oil Refiner Seeks Paths to Modi's Cleaner Future
New Delhi   05-Sep-2017



India's top oil refiner is exploring the use of natural gas and electricity to power vehicles as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government envisions multiple paths toward reducing the country's dependence on petroleum-based fuels. Indian Oil Corp., which supplies about half the oil products to the world's fastest-growing consumer, is aiming to sell natural gas for vehicles through its existing retail network and has formed teams to research concepts to power electric vehicles, build fuel cells and make different types of fuels including biofuels, according to its chairman “We don't know the kind of energy we'll have 15 years down the line, but we know we have to be fast and we have a firm plan on how aggressive we will be,'' Sanjiv Singh said in an interview. “We will be part of the change.'' India's efforts to lessen its reliance on oil, as well as cut emissions and its import bill, include a goal to more than double the use of natural gas in its energy mix by 2021 and a proposal to sell only electric cars by 2030. Modi, an advocate of clean energy, has pledged to cut emissions by a third by 2030. “The use of fossil fuels is certainly not going to end any time soon, but progressively it will come down,” said Nitin Zamre, managing director of Indian operations at Fairfax, Virginia-based consultant ICF International Inc. “Everything being said about future fuels is only aspirations as of now. There needs to be clarity on what India is looking at and then frame policies to achieve those goals.” Indian Oil shares rose as much as 1.9 percent before paring gains to trade 1.1 percent higher at 433.95 rupees as of 2:27 p.m. in Mumbai on Tuesday.