Thursday, February 24, 2005
Mani Shankar Aiyer dreams big
Mani Shankar Aiyar made his name as an articulate spokesman in Rajiv Gandhi's PMO. I, for one, was pleased when he was inducted into the cabinet even if it wasn't in his preferred portfolio of rural development. Instead he got oil and gas, a ministry that for inexplicable reasons was considered a backwater, until he took over. As the Economist puts it, Aiyar has transformed a department better known for out-of-turn allotments of petrol pumps into a significant player in the global energy market.
In mid-February Mr Aiyar floated his dream of an Asian gas grid to an international gas-users conference. He then went to Moscow, seeking investment in India's oil and gas. Earlier this month the Indian cabinet told him to start talks on bringing natural gas from Iran, Myanmar and Turkmenistan. In January, he was host at an inaugural 12-nation conference, which gathered Asian energy-users, including China and Korea, and Middle Eastern suppliers, such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
His aim is to secure foreign energy supplies to fuel economic growth of 7-8% or more. By 2020, India's oil imports are expected to rise from 70% to 85% of consumption. As demand for natural gas soars, substantial imports of it will also be required, even though 90% of current consumption is met from domestic output. The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, which is spearheading the search, has invested some $5 billion over the past four years in countries that range from Russia and Iran to Vietnam and Myanmar.
In January Mr Aiyar succeeded in persuading Bangladesh, which since the late 1990s has resisted selling India gas from its 948 billion cubic metres of potential reserves, to agree in principle to become a partner in a pipeline that would bring gas from Myanmar to India. The pipeline might also pick up some Bangladeshi gas, and supplies from India's north-eastern states.
Mr Aiyar says his job is to dream: one of his dreams is that an Asian energy grid might follow the trajectory of the European Coal and Steel Community, which grew into the European Union.
Before dreaming the big dreams, Aiyar would do India a great favour if he could merge all the major Indian oil companies. Right now, the biggest problem facing Indian oil companies is competition from China in oilfields ranging from Angola to Sudan. One way for the Indian oil companies to compete effectively with China would be to consolidate into one mega firm -- a $75 billion firm called Petro India, an idea mooted in the past by who else, but Mani Shankar Aiyer.
In mid-February Mr Aiyar floated his dream of an Asian gas grid to an international gas-users conference. He then went to Moscow, seeking investment in India's oil and gas. Earlier this month the Indian cabinet told him to start talks on bringing natural gas from Iran, Myanmar and Turkmenistan. In January, he was host at an inaugural 12-nation conference, which gathered Asian energy-users, including China and Korea, and Middle Eastern suppliers, such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
His aim is to secure foreign energy supplies to fuel economic growth of 7-8% or more. By 2020, India's oil imports are expected to rise from 70% to 85% of consumption. As demand for natural gas soars, substantial imports of it will also be required, even though 90% of current consumption is met from domestic output. The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, which is spearheading the search, has invested some $5 billion over the past four years in countries that range from Russia and Iran to Vietnam and Myanmar.
In January Mr Aiyar succeeded in persuading Bangladesh, which since the late 1990s has resisted selling India gas from its 948 billion cubic metres of potential reserves, to agree in principle to become a partner in a pipeline that would bring gas from Myanmar to India. The pipeline might also pick up some Bangladeshi gas, and supplies from India's north-eastern states.
Mr Aiyar says his job is to dream: one of his dreams is that an Asian energy grid might follow the trajectory of the European Coal and Steel Community, which grew into the European Union.
Before dreaming the big dreams, Aiyar would do India a great favour if he could merge all the major Indian oil companies. Right now, the biggest problem facing Indian oil companies is competition from China in oilfields ranging from Angola to Sudan. One way for the Indian oil companies to compete effectively with China would be to consolidate into one mega firm -- a $75 billion firm called Petro India, an idea mooted in the past by who else, but Mani Shankar Aiyer.
