The heads of major energy companies and leading market experts took part in a Special Session dedicated to ensuring global energy security at the XVII Verona Eurasian Economic Forum.

During the discussion, Reliance Industries Executive Director Panda Madhusudana Siva Prasad stated the need to balance affordability, energy security and sustainable development.

“Despite criticism of the hydrocarbon sector, energy remains crucial and necessary for a plethora of industries including fertilizers, plastics, pharmaceuticals and medical delivery systems. Therefore, while climate action is urgently needed, we cannot simply abandon the current hydrocarbon-based system,” he emphasized.

According to Nobuo Tanaka, former executive director of the International Energy Agency, countries need to have a diversified basket of energy resources in the current environment. Newly emerging areas of activity, among which are the establishment of data centers, require large amounts of energy. “Therefore, from a pragmatic point of view, we need to utilize all energy sources,” he added.

ONGC Chairman and CEO Arun Kumar Singh in his address said that the need and demand for power in India is growing at 8-9% per annum, which is higher than the growth of the economy, and the demand for power will only get stronger.

“Now all the growth is coming from developing countries. They need affordable energy resources. If oil and gas are expensive, developing countries have no choice but to turn to solar power. If prices are affordable, India can consume 8-9 million barrels per day,” Arun Kumar Singh said.

Andrey Kostin, President-Chairman of the Management Board of VTB Bank, said it was time to create a financial infrastructure parallel to the Western one. “I mean the system of settlements, and the financial transfer system, and the exchange - stock exchange, as well as for trading in grain, oil, gas, gold. It is also necessary to create our own credit rating agencies that would be recognized by the BRICS countries. Such a system will not appear immediately, but we must move in this direction. And I believe that the best financial center for the development of such infrastructure are the United Arab Emirates, which joined BRICS this year,” Kostin said.

Dmitry Pumpyansky, a member of the Board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, emphasized during the discussion that Russia indeed has huge hydrocarbon reserves, a significant part of which is located in the north of the country.

“For example, just the large-scale Vostok Oil project alone is one of the most advanced and most promising in the world and has a colossal resource base. “Vostok Oil” will more than provide our country and many countries with hydrocarbons for many years to come. Proximity to the Northern Sea Route is a significant advantage of the project and opens up wide opportunities for supplies to the markets of the Asia-Pacific region,” said Dmitry Pumpyanskiy. According to him, the implementation of the project will give an impetus to the development of related industries, such as machine building, metallurgy, power generation, and road construction.

Rosneft Information Division
Rosneft Oil Company
December 5, 2024