Petrochemical market size is currently about US $190 billion, whereas the per capita consumption of petrochemical segments is significantly lower, compared to that in developed economies and this gap offers substantial space for demand growth and investment opportunities, said Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep S. Puri, addressing the Plenary Session at the 7th Petrochemical Conclave at New Delhi.

The event was attended by Rameswar Teli, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Labour and Employment; Pankaj Jain, Secretary, MoP&NG, S. M. Vaidya, Chairman, IndianOil; Sujoy Choudhury, Director (Planning & Business Development), IndianOil; and other functional directors of IndianOil.

The Conclave focused on providing a comprehensive platform for varied Petrochemical stakeholders to deliberate on the opportunities and challenges with the sector and brainstorm on the impacts of forces like energy transition, crude oil to chemicals, industry 4.0, emerging green pathways, and circular economy. 

“Petrochemicals sector supports the PM's initiative of Make In India and Make for the World and can transform India into a global manufacturing hub. One of the most important factors driving the growth of the petrochemical industry is the increasing demand for petrochemical products from a growing population and a rapidly expanding economy. India would contribute 10% to the incremental growth of global petrochemical demand. The government has instituted several policies to boost this sector and improve the ease of doing business including 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) through the automatic route,” added Puri. 

Teli said, "Sectors like petrochemicals have contributed a lot to the GDP success story and shall continue to add in the future. The exuberant growth of the Indian economy cannot be spoken of without mentioning the role that the petrochemical industry has and is expected to play in this journey.”

Welcoming the dignitaries to a special plenary session, Chairman, IndianOil, S. M. Vaidya said, "Currently, petrochemical production accounts for nearly 14% and 8% of the global demand for oil and gas, respectively. With the evolution of new technologies, especially in crude to chemicals, petrochemical production share is expected to increase to about 30 % shortly.”

In the conclave, a white paper on “India’s Petrochemical Future – Sustainable and Aatmanirbhar" was released by Hardeep Singh Puri. Earlier in the day, this conclave was inaugurated by Arun Baroka, Secretary, Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals in the presence of Sujoy Choudhury, Director (Planning & Business Development), IndianOil and other functional directors of IndianOil. 

Some of the key speakers taking part in the deliberations include thought-leaders from MoP&NG and MOC&F, World Bank, Toho Titanium, Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, prominent consultants like Chemical Market Analytics, Kearney, S&P Global, EIL, KPMG, Wood Mackenzie etc., Industry leaders from BASF, Toho Titanium and leading technology providers from various vertical of petrochemical industry like Lummus Technologies, UOP Honeywell, Linde, Oerlikon Barmag, Johnson Matthey, KBR, Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions, Milliken Chemical & Textile, and others.