Quitol (Goa): Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri announced the launch of India-Canada ministerial energy dialogue on the first day of India Energy Week (IEW) in Goa on Tuesday. Addressing the media during a press interaction, the minister said that Canada has expressed an interest in “enhancing energy cooperation with India.” Puri held a bilateral meeting with Canada’s Minister for Energy and Natural Resources Timothy Hodgson on Tuesday.
A joint statement released by India and Canada said, “On the sidelines of the event, the two Ministers held a bilateral meeting and launched the renewed India-Canada Ministerial Energy Dialogue. During this meeting, the ministers affirmed the immense importance that energy security and diversity of supply has in the safety, wellbeing, and economic vitality of both the countries.”
The areas of interest include oil and gas, critical minerals and nuclear energy, said the minister without elaborating on the details.
Noting that renewable and alternative energy sources are expanding at pace, the minister said that conventional energy still remains essential to meeting the growing energy demand. “I must re-emphasise that if investment in existing oil and gas production were to stop today, global oil output would decline by around 8 percent annually, over the next decade equivalent to losing more than the combined annual production of Brazil and Norway. The history of energy has never been about replacement alone, it has been about addition,” said Puri.
“Energy transition, energy security, and system resilience must advance together, and energy addition has emerged as a practical pathway to balance these priorities,” the minister added, reiterating India’s stance on charting an energy transition journey that includes all energy sources.
Commenting on India’s energy transition journey by 2030, the minister said, “I don't think 2030 will mark a decisive shift away from one towards the other. We will have more of everything, except that the green transition will have become more pronounced.”
Commenting on the energy markets during an inter-ministerial panel discussion, Puri said, “I think more energy is coming on the market, and if we get the rest of the negotiation right, it will be better. It’s not a producer versus consumer (market). Countries like India have producers and consumers and exporters. I think a stable global energy market is in everyone’s interest.”
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