India's energy demand will be double by 2040: Pradhan

New Delhi: India's energy demands will be more than double by 2040 as the economy will grow over five times its current size, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Monday.

Pradhan said in Lok Sabha the International Energy Agency has released India's energy outlook in the World Energy Outlook 2015 which said that for the entire period till 2040, Indian economy will grow at a faster rate than any other country in the world by an average of 6.5 percent per year.

"India's energy demand will be more than double by 2040 as economy will grow to more than five times its current size.

A six million barrels per day rise in oil use is the largest projected for any country's oil demand as 260 million new passenger vehicles will be added.

"The demand for oil is projected to rise to 458 million tonnes of oil equivalent (MTOE) with a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 3.6 percent (2013-2040)," he said during Question Hour.

Pradhan said LPG will substitute for firewood as cooking fuel and industrial energy use will be buoyed by substantial growth in domestic manufacturing encouraged by the Make in India initiative.

Gas production will rise to 90 BCM (billion cubic metres) in 2040, subject to adjustment to the current formula that determines the price paid to domestic producers. The demand for natural gas is projected to rise to 149 MTOE with a CAGR of 4.6 percent (2013-40).

India requires a cumulative USD 2.8 trillion in investment, an average of USD 110 billion per year, to meet the supply projections, 75 percent of which is in the power sector, and an additional USD 0.8 trillion to improve energy efficiency.

Cumulative investment of USD 62 billion in upstream oil, USD 192 billion in refining, USD 127 billion in upstream gas and USD 11 billion in bio-fuels is projected till 2040.

Replying to a question, the Minister said the blending of ethanol with petrol currently stands at 2.5 percent and efforts are on to reach the target of ten percent.