India a bright spot in gloomy energy industry: Muller

Industry experts have said that India is a bright spot in the gloomy global energy industry with oil giant ONGC taking a lead in upstream activities amidst the depressed oil price environment which has forced others to cut costs and review or shelve projects. Commenting on the issue, Oslo-based Rystad Energy AS Senior project manager Jon Fredrick Muller said, “As a market, the Indian energy demand growth is driven by the strong economic performances and the increasing middle class spending while state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has taken a lead in calling tenders for chartering of offshore drilling rigs and support vessels of upstream projects.” As per reports, the Indian Government is emphasizing that the ONGC-led industry should cut import dependence by 10 per cent in next seven years to 68 per cent. In accordance, India's upstream oil and gas companies have retained their focus on domestic exploration and development projects despite low oil prices.