Energy Secretary Rick Perry will travel to India next week to discuss the future of the U.S. energy relationship with high-level officials on the subcontinent.
The meeting comes as the first shipments of U.S.-produced liquefied natural gas begin to arrive in India this month, an administration official pointed out to the Washington Examiner.
Perry will be having “multiple bilateral meetings” during the trip, Energy Department spokeswoman Shaylyn Hynes said.
Perry made a quick reference to his travel plans Monday at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance conference in New York. “I’m leaving Friday for India,” he said, after talking about U.S. natural gas exports arriving in Poland and the Trump “energy dominance” agenda.
President Trump has called Indian Prime Minister Nerendra Modi “a true friend” after meeting him last year soon after being sworn in as president. Modi is a nationalist and shares much of Trump’s fervor to place the needs of his country first.
Trump also met with Modi during his lengthy visit through Asia toward the end of last year. Trump has made U.S. energy exports to India part of those conversations, including crude oil and natural gas.
India’s energy policies are pushing the country to more than double the share of natural gas in its energy mix by 2022, which will mean a several-fold increase in imports and infrastructure.
India was the third-largest energy consumer in the world after China and the U.S. in 2013, according to the Energy Information Administration. The agency pointed out that although the country has sizable fossil fuel resources, it has become increasingly dependent on energy imports. That trend has continued into 2018.
More recent studies by the International Energy Agency show India becoming more deeply entwined with other countries and energy markets because of its growing population and huge thirst for new sources of fuel and energy resources.
“One unmistakable conclusion is that India’s ties with the international energy system are set to deepen, intensifying India’s dependence and influence on international markets, through trade, investment, clean technology cooperation and other channels,” said Fatih Birol, the head of the international agency.
“International partnerships will be required to deliver the reliable, sustainable, affordable energy system that India wants and needs,” he said.
