Parliament Question: Geopolitical risks and energy transition

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1095 ANSWERED ON- 09/02/2026 GEOPOLITICAL RISKS AND ENERGY TRANSITION 1095. DR. SIKANDER KUMAR: Will the Minister of PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS be pleased to state: (a) the progress status in enhancing strategic petroleum reserves to mitigate future geopolitical supply disruptions, particularly after 2025 sanctions on traditional suppliers; (b) the status of initiatives to commercialise aluminum air batteries for stationary and mobile applications to complement the energy transition; (c) with ongoing research into AI for real-time corrosion, the number of refineries that have adopted advanced AI tools to improve efficiency and reduce maintenance downtime; and (d) the measures being taken to reach long-term target of 100 MMT of domestic crude oil and 100 BCM of natural gas production? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS (SHRI SURESH GOPI) (a) Government, through a Special Purpose Vehicle called Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Limited (ISPRL), have established Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) facilities with total capacity of 5.33 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) which can act as buffer for short-term supply shocks. In July 2021, Government had also approved the establishment of two additional commercial- cum-strategic petroleum reserve facilities with storage capacity of 4 MMT and 2.5 MMT respectively, on a Public Private Partnership mode. (b) The Public Sector Enterprise (PSE) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), formed a 50:50 joint venture, IOC Phinergy Private Ltd. (IOP), in February 2021 with M/s Phinergy Ltd., Israel, for research and development of aluminum-air energy systems. Due to both technical and commercial reasons, aluminum-air batteries are presently not commercially viable.-2- (c) All Public sector refineries are integrating AI actively across the energy value chain, from project execution to operation maintenance, and transforming into “digital ecosystems” using AI- based maintenance. (d): To increase domestic production and reduce the import dependence, Government of India has set the following targets for domestic production as part of Viksit Bharat 2047 vision: Year 2025 2030 2047 Crude Oil Production (MMT) 29 35 100 Natural Gas Production (BCM) 36 45 100 The Government has taken various measures to reduce import dependency and promote domestic production, which, inter alia, include expanding exploration acreage through the Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP), reduction in “No-Go Areas”, and various other policy reforms including Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Act, 2025. *****