Introduction

Petrochemicals are derived from various chemical compounds, mainly from hydrocarbons. These hydrocarbons are derived from crude oil and natural gas. Among the various fractions produced by distillation of crude oil, petroleum gases, naphtha, kerosene and gas oil are the main feed stocks for petrochemical industry.

Ethane, propane and natural gas liquids obtained from natural gas are the other important feedstock used in the Petrochemicals industry. Petrochemical industry plays a vital role in economic growth and development of manufacturing sector. The value addition in the petrochemicals industry is higher than most of the other industry sectors.

The Petrochemical industry, which entered in the Indian industrial scene in 1970s, registered a rapid growth in the 1980s and 1990s. Petrochemical industry mainly comprise of synthetic fibre / yarn, polymers, Synthetic Rubber (elastomers), Synthetic detergent intermediates, performance plastics and plastic processing industry.

Today, petrochemical products permeate the entire spectrum of daily use items and cover almost every sphere of life like clothing, housing, construction, furniture, automobiles, household items, agriculture, horticulture, irrigation, packaging, medical appliances, electronics and electrical etc.

Presently there are five naphtha and three gas cracker complexes in operation with combined ethylene capacity of about 2.6 million tonnes per annum. In addition, there are four aromatic complexes in operation with a combined Xylene capacity of about 2.1 million tonnes. The production performance of major petrochemicals during 2001-02 to 2005-06 is as follows :Presently there are five naphtha and three gas cracker complexes in operation with combined ethylene capacity of about 2.6 million tonnes per annum. In addition, there are four aromatic complexes in operation with a combined Xylene capacity of about 2.1 million tonnes.

The oil and gas sector is among the eight core industries in India and plays a major role in influencing decision making for all the other important sections of the economy. India’s economic growth is closely related to energy demand; therefore the need for oil and gas is projected to grow more, thereby making the sector quite conducive for investment. The Government of India has adopted several policies to fulfil the increasing demand. The government has allowed 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in many segments of the sector, including natural gas, petroleum products, and refineries, among others. Today, it attracts both domestic and foreign investment, as attested by the presence of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and Cairn India.

Market Size
India is expected to be one of the largest contributors to non-OECD petroleum consumption growth globally. Oil imports rose sharply to US$ 87.37 billion in 2017-18 from US$ 70.72 billion in 2016-17. India retained its spot as the third largest consumer of oil in the world in 2017 with consumption of 4.69 mbpd of oil in 2017, compared to 4.56 mbpd in 2016. India was the fourth-largest Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) importer in 2017 after Japan, South Korea and China. LNG imports increased to 26.11 bcm in 2017-18 from 24.48 bcm in 2016-17. Gas pipeline infrastructure in the country stood at 16,226 km at the beginning of February 2019.

Investments
According to data released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), the petroleum and natural gas sector attracted FDI worth US$ 7.00 billion between April 2000 and December 2018.

Following are some of the major investments and developments in the oil and gas sector:
• In September 2018, the Government of Gujarat selected Energy Infrastructure Limited (EIL), a subsidiary of the Netherlands-based Energy Infrastructure Butano (Asia) BV, to set up a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) terminal at Okha with an investment of Rs 700 crore (US$ 104.42 million).
• Foreign investors will have opportunities to invest in projects worth US$ 300 billion in India, as the country looks to cut reliance on oil imports by 10 per cent by 2022, according to Mr Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India.
• Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is going to invest Rs 17,615 crore (US$ 2.73 billion) on drilling oil and gas wells in 2018-19.
• As of March 2019, Brookfield is going to acquire Reliance Gas Transportation Infrastructure, now known as East West Pipeline (EWPL) for Rs 13,000 crore (US$ 1.80 billion).

Government Initiatives
Some of the major initiatives taken by the Government of India to promote oil and gas sector are:
• The Government of India is planning to set up around 5,000 compressed bio gas (CBG) plants by 2023.
• Government of India is planning to invest Rs 70,000 crore (US$ 9.97 billion) to expand the gas pipeline network across the country.
• In September 2018, Government of India approved fiscal incentives to attract investments and technology to improve recovery from oil fields which is expected to lead to hydrocarbon production worth Rs 50 lakh crore (US$ 745.82 billion) in the next twenty years.
• State-run oil firms are planning investments worth Rs 723 crore (US$ 111.30 million) in Uttar Pradesh to improve the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) infrastructure in a bid to promote clean energy and generate employment, according to Mr Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India.
• A gas exchange is planned in order to bring market-driven pricing in the energy market of India and the proposal for the same is ready to be taken to the Union Cabinet, according to Mr Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India.
• The Oil Ministry plans to set up bio-CNG (compressed natural gas) plants and allied infrastructure at a cost of Rs 7,000 crore (US$ 1.10 billion) to promote the use of clean fuel.

Achievements
Following are the achievements of the government during 2018:
• Construction of around 13,500 km long gas pipeline is under way, at the end of 2018.
• Under City Gas Distribution (CGD) network, 86 Geographical Areas constituting 174 districts in 22 States/ Union Territories are covered
• As of December 5, 2018 more than 58.3 million connections have been released under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY).

Road Ahead
Energy demand of India is anticipated to grow faster than energy demand of all major economies, on the back of continuous robust economic growth. Consequently, India’s energy demand as a percentage of global energy demand is expected to rise to 11 per cent in 2040 from 5.58 per cent in 2017. Crude oil consumption is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.60 per cent to 500 million tonnes by 2040 from 221.76 million tonnes in 2017. Natural Gas consumption is forecasted to increase at a CAGR of 4.31 per cent to 143.08 million tonnes by 2040 from 54.20 million tonnes in 2017.