NEW DELHI, India — Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri met with top executives from South Korea’s largest shipping companies on Friday, calling the discussion “highly productive” and emphasizing the critical link between India’s growing energy needs and global maritime capabilities.
In a post on X, Puri said the meeting focused on the shared importance of energy and shipping as “inseparable pillars” of India’s rapidly expanding economy. He noted that India’s crude and natural gas imports — valued at more than $150 billion — are almost entirely transported by sea, underscoring the scale of the country’s maritime demand.
Executives who attended the meeting included Korea Ocean Business Corporation (KOBC) CEO An Byung Gil, SK Shipping CEO Kim Sung Ick, H-Line Shipping CEO Seo Myung Deuk, and Pan Ocean Vice President Sung Je Yong.
Puri said India and South Korea could form a mutually beneficial partnership by combining Korea’s advanced shipbuilding expertise with India’s strong manufacturing base and lower production costs. Such collaboration, he added, could help serve both India’s growing domestic needs and global demand for commercial and industrial vessels.
The minister highlighted the imbalance in India’s maritime logistics sector: although the oil and gas industry accounts for nearly 28 percent of the country’s total trade by volume, only around 20 percent of that cargo is carried by Indian-flagged or Indian-owned vessels.
With demand rising for crude oil, LPG, LNG, and ethane, Puri said India must expand its shipbuilding capacity. He noted that ONGC alone is projected to require nearly 100 offshore service vessels and platform supply vessels by 2034.
Puri also reiterated India’s position as one of the world’s top refining nations. The country operates 23 major refineries with a combined capacity of 258.2 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA). India’s petroleum product exports climbed to 64.7 million tonnes in 2024–25, up from 55.5 million tonnes in 2014–15.
The minister said India is on track to reach a refining capacity of about 310 MMTPA by 2030, with long-term plans to expand further toward 400–450 MMTPA as it aims to become a major global refining and energy hub.
India imports over 85 percent of its crude oil requirement, making it the world’s second-largest oil importer after China. Its top suppliers include Russia, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States. (Source: IANS)
