India's energy consumption to double by 2031: Study

New Delhi, July 25 (IANS) Energy consumption in India is likely to double to 1,124 kgs of oil equivalent (kgoe) by 2031-32 on the back of high economic expansion, a joint study by consultancy Deloitte and industry chamber Assocham showed Wednesday.

The report said a multi-pronged strategy, like increasing production of oil and gas and diversifying import sources, are needed to meet growing energy demand in India, which is heavily dependent on imports.

With demand for hydrocarbons closely linked to economic growth, demand for petroleum products is expected to grow at 6 percent.

"Without exception, energy consumption in India is expected to grow. A sizeable share of this energy requirement is expected to continue to come from hydrocarbons," said Kalpana Jain, senior director, Deloitte.

"However, better infrastructure, clear policies and regulatory environment are required across the oil and gas value chain to make the sector attractive for investment," she said.

The report was released at the 15th Energy Summit on Indian Oil and Gas Sector organised by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham).

As domestic production of crude is relatively stable and not following the growth trend of demand, dependence on imports is likely to rise, the report said.

As per current estimates of production and demand, share of imports is set to rise from current 75 percent to 80 percent by the end of the 12th five year plan (2016-17).

India's existing domestic production of about 858,000 barrels of oil per day is only about 25 percent of its current consumption of 3,473,000 barrels of oil per day.

As a result, the volume of crude oil imports has been increasing steadily in India nearing about 75 percent of its total crude requirement in 2011.

According to the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, crude oil and refined products made up over 28 percent and 30 percent of India's import of principal commodities in 2010-11 and first half of 2011-12 respectively.

Meanwhile, petroleum refining capacity has outstripped demand consistently. Since 2002, the country's export of petroleum products has risen from 10 million tonnes to around 60 million tonnes in 2011-12, an average annual growth of over 20 percent.