The picturesque city of Goa was host to an Unique International Energy Exercise from 27th to 30th. December.
On Day 2 Prime minister of India inaugurated it with Minister of P& NG in attendance. Amongst several events duly reported by NewsIP, was a one of its kind Energy Sector CEOs (9TH PM Roundtable).
27 CEOs and senior corporate dignitaries, including TotalEnergies, bp, Vitol, HD Hyundai, HD KSOE, Aker, LanzaTech, Vedanta, International Energy Forum (IEF), Excelerate, Wood Mackenzie, Trafigura, Staatsolie, Praj, ReNew, and MOL, among others participated.
The CEOs expressed strong confidence in India’s growth trajectory and conveyed their keen interest in expanding and deepening their business presence in India.
We have highlighted India’s robust economic momentum as India is advancing rapidly towards becoming the world’s third-largest economy and will play a decisive role in the global energy demand–supply balance.
The Prime Minister drew attention to significant investment opportunities in India’s energy sector including investment potential of around USD 100 billion in exploration and production, 87 Billion opportunity in refining and petrochem and USD 72 billion in natural gas sector among others.
The Prime Minister called for innovation, collaboration, and deeper partnerships, reiterating that India stands ready as a reliable and trusted partner across the entire energy value chain.
Day 3, saw India-Netherlands country session on “Facilitating bilateral partnerships for the creation of sustainable clean energy ecosystem” – Secretary chaired
Participation was by over 50 energy professionals, over 20 Dutch companies participated in the discussion The sides discussed cooperation across number of areas including Green Hydrogen, CCUS, renewables, biofuels among others Strategic partnership to be launched very soon between the two sides.
Discussed creation of last mile channels to enhance export efficiency, and building green hydrogen corridors and hydrogen receiving stations Manufacturing of electrolyzers was deliberated Dutch firms shown interest in R&D as well as scale-up in blue and grey hydrogen, innovation in catalysts Sides also expressed interest in exploring pilot projects such as desalination, microgrids, membrane technology and high-pressure fuel injection systems Indian side invited Dutch companies to establish GCCs in India focused on engineering and innovation.
The Secretary chaired The Roundtable for India-Japan Collaboration was held against the backdrop of the First Tokyo RT with the objective of advancing bilateral cooperation in the energy sector. 28 Japanese participants across 17 companies across industry, government, multilateral institutions, and large conglomerates, discussions highlighted the following key themes: Discussion centered on Strengthening bilateral hydrocarbon cooperation across trade & investments.
ONGC & MOL have already formed two shipowner Joint Ventures for two Very Large Ethane Carriers (VLECs) Yokogawa has already shown strong interest to enhance investment in India Invited Japanese companies for participating in ongoing OALP X round Ethanol and biofuels emerged as a priority collaboration area, with India offering surplus ethanol capacity, diversified feedstocks such as UCO, and significant progress on blending targets.
Multiple opportunities across the gas and low-carbon fuel ecosystem, spanning LNG value chains, city gas distribution, and biomethane/CBG development. Collaboration opportunities across automation, digitalization, AI-enabled predictive analytics, SCADA systems, and advanced instrumentation to enhance efficiency across oil & gas and new energy segments.
India Iceland Roundtable was on strengthening collaboration in geothermal & CCUS It brought together Indian PSUs, Icelandic technology providers, research institutions, and industry leaders, with discussions centred on deployment-focused cooperation across geothermal energy, carbon capture, and carbon utilisation.
Key discussion themes included: 1. Geothermal energy as a strategic collaboration pillar, leveraging Iceland’s operational experience and India’s untapped 10.6 GW geothermal potential, with a focus on technologies that integrate with repurposing existing infrastructure and enable rapid deployment.
2. Clear geothermal development opportunities in India, including ONGC’s Puga Valley (~5 sq km) with high-enthalpy results and potential of up to 100 MW, alongside potential in Chumathang Valley and hot spring zones in Arunachal Prades (4 already identified by OIL), with scope for joint resource assessment and pilot projects.
3. ISOR highlighted that using heat, they geothermal can be used directly, especially from low temperature fields.
4. Highlighted by the readiness of Indian PSU such as OIL’s first CCS project in Rajasthan, with potential to capture ~200 tonnes of CO₂ per day and transporting it via an 8 km pipeline for storage in nearby wells.
5. They also mentioned that Iceland can support India in converging e-methanol into e-SAF. IOCL is also capturing CO2 to make methanol in its petrochemical plants, along with e-CO2 initiatives.
6. Geotropy from Iceland is advancing geothermal deployment in India by signing MoUs in Himachal Pradesh to explore and develop geothermal potential across identified sites.
Roundtable on Future of India – U.S. Energy Partnership This RT was a follow up to the last Roundtable held in IEW 2025 in New Delhi , US is already India’s sixth largest energy trade partner, with hydrocarbon trade reached over $13.7 billion in FY2024-25, discussion cantered on further enhancing the bilateral trade including Crude, LNG & LPG. Indian companies are also interested in equity participation in LNG liquefaction projects in the U.S., particularly those under construction or nearing final investment decision. Sides also discussed that the United States and India possess comparative advantages that offer a chance to develop a critical minerals sector. US companies partnering actively in India’s energy sector, across E&P value chain Sides also discussed Technology partnership potential with US in areas like CCUS and Hydrogen U.S. companies are looking to invest in India in E&P and looking as a strong trading partner for gas.
There were several MoUs /Agreements signed on 28th & 29th January 2026: IndianOil signed a MoU with ENGIE for strategic collaboration in LNG and gas markets, strengthening its engagement across the LNG and natural gas value chain. The MoU provides a structured framework for IndianOil and ENGIE to jointly explore opportunities in LNG and natural gas trading, with a particular focus on the Asia-Pacific region.
MoU among OIL, NRL and & TotalEnergies for collaboration to exchange LNG market knowledge and explore long-term LNG sourcing and regasification collaboration.
HPCL and Thermax Limited signed an MoU for joint development and commercialization of clean and new energy technologies, including HP AEM Electrolysers, CO₂ capture solutions, bio-pyrolysis oil processing, and other emerging energy pathways.
BPCL signed MoUs with logistics companies DHL and Delhivery to convert their diesel fleets to LNG. This collaboration aims to develop models for LNG adoption and establish LNG stations at strategic locations, ensuring high utilization and promoting LNG as a viable mobility fuel.
BPCL and Praj declared to set up a commercial demonstration plant at the Bargarh Refinery in Odish to BioIBA (a renewable fuel: biofuel to be blended in diesel). This can be blended into the existing diesel infrastructure without major modifications.
The two days saw tremendous activity with huge promising leads. In many ways IEW – 26 was a grand success with expanding horizons and pushing frontiers. Everyone is already talking about the 2027 edition. But this did not stop some from quipping – All is well but all should not be in well.
