Already ranking sixth in global petroleum demand, India meets 70 percent of its needs through crude oil imports. By 2010, India is projected to replace South Korea and emerge as the fourth-largest consumer of energy, after the United States, China, and Japan.
As a result, the Indian government is investing heavily to secure supplies from abroad. Last week, Oil & Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC), India's largest state-run oil explorer, won the right to develop Qatar's offshore Najwat Najem oil field with an initial investment of US$20 million. During Chavez's visit, India and Venezuela signed six agreements, mostly dealing with energy trade. While two Indian companies will take a 49 percent stake in a Venezuelan oil field, Venezuela's state-run oil company, will invest in one of India's refineries. In addition to Russia, Latin America, and the Middle East, Indian oil companies are looking to African countries – Chad, Niger, Ghana, and Congo in particular – for oil and gas fields. A recent a high-profile conference of oil-producing countries in New Delhi gave Indian officials a chance to scout for more opportunities worldwide.
Indian authorities have indicated that they are also not hesitant in seeking deals with pariah states. InSudan, India has invested US$750 million to pick up a 25 percent equity previously held by the Canadian Talisman Energy in the Greater Nile Oil Project. (The Canadian company was forced to quit Sudan after it came under pressure from human rights organizations on the charge of committing genocide in Darfur region.) Closer to home, India has reached an agreement with Myanmar's junta for the construction of a gas pipeline.