India to spend $ 300 bn on oil exploration

Commodity Online

NEW DELHI: India will spend $ 300 billion for oil exploration and production over the next five to seven years, said petroleum secretary M S Srinivasan.

Speaking to reporters here, he said, exploration and production business would become a US$5.2 trillion industry in the next 5 7 years.

India, Asia's third biggest oil consumer, is competing with countries such as Nigeria to attract exploration by global producers as domestic output falls. India, world's fastest growing major economy after China, depends on imports for 70 per cent of its oil needs.