Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep S. Puri addresses Plenary Session at 7th Petrochemical Conclave, New Delhi

The Conclave aims to provide a comprehensive platform for diverse Petrochemical stakeholders to discuss the sector's opportunities and challenges and the effects of forces such as energy transition, Crude Oil to Chemicals, Industry 4.0, emerging Green pathways, and the Circular Economy.

Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep S. Puri addressing the Plenary Session at the 7th Petrochemical Conclave in New Delhi today Speaking at the Plenary session, Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said, "Petrochemical market size is currently in India about US $ 190 Billion, whereas the per capita consumption of petrochemical segments is significantly lower, compared to that in developed economies.

And this gap provides significant room for demand growth and investment opportunities. The petrochemicals sector supports PM's Make In India and Make for the World initiative and can transform India into a global manufacturing hub. The increasing demand for petrochemical products from a growing population and a rapidly expanding economy is one of the most important factors driving the growth of the petrochemical industry.

India would account for 10% of the incremental growth in global petrochemical demand. The government has implemented several policies to boost this sector and make doing business more accessible, including 100% foreign direct investment through the automatic route," he added.

Minister of State, MoP&NG, Rameswar Teli remarked, "Sectors like Petrochemicals have contributed a lot to the GDP success story and shall continue to add in the future. The Indian economy's brisk growth cannot be discussed without mentioning the petrochemical industry's role and is expected to play in this journey."

"Currently, petrochemical production accounts for nearly 14% and 8% of global demand for oil and gas, respectively," said S M Vaidya, Chairman of IndianOil, in welcoming dignitaries to a special plenary session. With the advancement of new technologies, particularly in crude to chemical conversion, the share of petrochemical production is expected to rise to around 30% in the near future."

Hardeep Singh Puri also released a white paper titled "India's Petrochemical Future - Sustainable and Aatmanirbhar" at the Conclave. Earlier in the day, Arun Baroka, Secretary Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals, inaugurated this Conclave in the presence of Sujoy Choudhury, Director (Planning & Business Development), IndianOil, and other Functional Directors of Indian Oil.

Thought-leaders from MOP&NG and MOC&F, World Bank, Toho Titanium, Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, prominent consultants such as Chemical Market Analytics, Kearney, S&P Global, EIL, KPMG, Wood Mackenzie, etc., industry leaders from BASF, Toho Titanium, and leading technology providers from various verticals of the Petrochemical industry such as Lummus Technologies, UOP Honeywell, Linde, Oerlikon Barmag,