Dun & Bradstreet, through its publication ‘India’s Energy Sector’- under the D&B Sectoral Round Table Conferences’ series - aims to highlight the growth and performance of the Energy Sector over the past few years. With consistent impetus on reforms, the sector has actively driven, supported and facilitated economic growth.

The publication has brought forth insightful trends, which would be of particular interest:

• India’s per capita energy consumption is estimated to be about 0.51 tonnes of oil equivalent (toe), while the world average is 1.8 toe/capita and that in OECD countries is around 4.7 toe/capita. The significantly low level of India’s per capita energy consumption indicates that there is huge potential in India for the growth of energy consumption.

• Consequent to the implementation of NELP and various initiatives taken by the government, the area under exploration has increased to about 50% as against 11% prior to the implementation of NELP. Given the boost in exploration & production activities in India, the production of oil has increased to 33,506 thousand tonnes in FY09 from 32,160 thousand tonnes in FY91. The production of natural gas has also surged to around 87 mn standard cubic metres per day (MMSCMD).
  
  
• India has evolved as the fifth largest economy in the world in terms of refining capacity, with a share of 3% of the global capacity. By the end of the Eleventh Five Year Plan Period (2007-2012), the refining capacity is expected to reach 240.96 MMTPA.
  
  
• As demand for energy in India is projected to grow at a steady rate, there is ample scope and opportunity for companies to invest in various streams of the Oil and Gas industry in the country. With each new discovery in gas and/or oil, India’s global status as a serious investment destination for exploration increases. With its increased refining capacity and exports of petroleum products, India has begun to induce various private sector companies including the foreign companies to venture into this stream.



• Over the last 6 years, the installed capacity of the country grew at a CAGR of 5.60% while the total power generated grew at a CAGR of 5.33%. The capacity addition during FY09 was only 3.5 GW as against a target of 11.1 GW for the same period. The shortfall in capacity addition was largely in thermal-based power plants.
  
  
• The peak demand for electricity increased from 100.7 GW in FY07 to 109.8 GW in FY09 while the peak demand met increased from 87.1 GW in FY07 to 96.7 GW in FY09. The PLF during FY09 was 1.4 percentage points lower at 77.2%, largely due to the lower supply of fuel to the thermal generation plants.
  


• With India’s nuclear isolation coming to an end, more companies are expected to enter the nuclear power business through partnerships and joint ventures in business segments ranging from equipment manufacturing to fuel supply to generation.



• In addition, the renewable energy business will also witness increased activity, as India has the requisite resources and this segment is more environment-friendly, and allows companies to limit their emissions.

The Energy sector has immense potential and prospects for growth and profitability in the future. D&B will endeavor to keep track of various developments in this sector to make this publication emerge as an important and reliable source of reference.