By Admin 
- Self-reliance is necessary to reduce dependence on energy imports.
US Iran War: Recently, the increasing tension in the Strait of Hormuz has once again exposed a major weakness of India. India imports about 88 percent of its crude oil and more than half of its gas from outside. In such a situation, whenever there is conflict or tension in any part of the world, it directly impacts India’s economy. Vedanta Chairman Anil Aggarwal believes that this situation teaches us a big lesson. India will now have to work rapidly towards becoming self-reliant in energy matters.
There is no shortage of resources, there is a need for exploration
According to Anil Aggarwal, India is not poor in terms of oil and gas. He says that the country may have resources equivalent to about 300 billion barrels of oil. The problem is not that we do not have the resources, but that we have not yet fully discovered and used them. Lack of investment and modern technology remains the biggest obstacle in this sector. India’s dependence on foreign oil is not just a general problem, but it is a structural risk. This clearly means that this danger will always remain.
Vedanta took a big step in this direction
In today’s time, oil exploration and production can be accelerated through modern technologies such as AI, digital oilfield systems and advanced seismic imaging. Now Vedanta has taken a big step in this direction, in which it has planned to invest 5 billion dollars and also has set a target of increasing the production to 10 lakh barrels per day in the coming time. Anil Aggarwal believes that many times the pace of work in India slows down due to government procedures. His suggestion is that instead of getting entangled in excessive paperwork, the work should be started early. This will speed up the projects and get results quickly.
International cooperation is very important – Anil Aggarwal
Anil Aggarwal believes that international cooperation is very important, especially with American energy companies who have modern technology and expertise in deep sea oil extraction. These companies not only bring money, but also bring with them real experience of working on a large scale in difficult areas like the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea. This partnership can accelerate India’s learning curve and help in quickly unlocking the oil reserves within the country.
The policy is right, the implementation is lacking
India has made many reforms in its oil-gas sector. Licensing rules have improved and the regulatory attitude has also become more relaxed than before. But Anil Aggarwal says that there is still a huge gap between policy and ground reality. Delays in approvals and operational bottlenecks continue to slow down research results.
Changing thinking: Mining is no longer an obstacle, it is the path to change
Anil Aggarwal also draws attention to a big change. Earlier mining and oil-gas production were considered a threat to the environment. But now the thinking of the world is changing. Mining and hydrocarbon production is being considered an essential part of the energy transition for developing countries. The Hormuz crisis has made it clear that India’s energy security cannot depend only on external supply chains. The lesson we learn from the Hormuz crisis is that India will have to stop depending on others for energy and will have to accelerate the work of extracting oil and gas within its own country.