From Petrotech to OPEC Dialogues to India Energy Week, India Reframes Global Energy Engagement

 India's global energy engagement has undergone a quiet but decisive shift over the past three decades, evolving from a hydrocarbons-centric dialogue anchored by the Petrotech conference to a broader, integrated and transition-ready platform under India Energy Week.

The fourth edition of India Energy Week (IEW) will take place from January 27-30, 2026, in Goa, bringing together the global energy community to drive dialogue, collaboration and innovation across the energy value chain.

IEW now occupies a "unique position on the global energy calendar," according to Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

Unlike other international conferences, IEW deliberates on all forms of energy - from fossil fuels to biofuels and hydrogen.

The foundations of India's global engagement were laid in the mid-1990s with the launch of biennial Petrotech, which for over two decades (from 1st edition in 1995 to 13th and last in 2019) served as India's principal interface with the global oil and gas industry..

At a time when India was opening up its upstream and downstream sectors, Petrotech provided a platform to attract international oil companies, showcase exploration opportunities and reinforce India's growing importance as a demand centre in global hydrocarbon markets.

This industry-focused engagement was complemented in the mid-2000s by a more outward-looking phase of energy diplomacy under then petroleum minister Mani Shankar Aiyar. Faced with rising oil prices and deepening import dependence, Aiyar sought to elevate India's role in global energy governance by promoting structured dialogue between producers and consumers.

His engagement with OPEC, participation in meetings in Vienna, and getting who's who in the oil producing cartel OPEC as well as major consumers in China, Korea and Japan in New Delhi in January 2005 for the Asian Oil Minister's Roundtable marked one of India's earliest attempts to move beyond transactional supply arrangements toward cooperative frameworks centred on market stability, mutual security of supply and demand, and cross-border investment.

As the global energy narrative widened in the 2010s to include decarbonisation, digitalisation and new fuels, India's engagement platforms began to evolve accordingly. Petrotech, while still relevant, reflected a largely hydrocarbons-led worldview. The launch of the India Energy Forum by CERAWeek in 2017 signalled a transition phase, introducing global conversations on energy transition and policy into India's discourse while retaining a strong oil and gas core.

India Energy Forum by CERAWeek ran five annual editions - from October 2017 to October 2021 - before the advent of India Energy Week in 2023, which consolidated India's global energy outreach into a single, integrated platform.

According to Puri, IEW spans oil and gas, renewables, hydrogen, biofuels, digital infrastructure and clean technologies, mirroring India's dual priorities of energy security and transition.

The platform reflects a more mature engagement strategy - one that recognises hydrocarbons remaining central for decades even as investment, technology and policy increasingly pivot toward lower-carbon pathways.

While hydrocarbons remain central to India's energy mix, the pivot from Petrotech to IEW underscores a strategic recalibration: from sector-specific engagement to a holistic narrative that aligns investment, technology and climate goals. As India's energy demand grows and its global role deepens, India Energy Week has emerged as the country's primary interface with the world's energy policymakers, investors and technology leaders.

While Petrotech and India Energy Forum by CERAWeek were hosted in New Delhi, IEW moved out of the national capital - the first edition being held in Bengaluru, followed by 2nd in Goa before the third being hosted in New Delhi. When the second edition of IEW was hosted in a make-shift pavilion at ONGC's Advanced Training Institute at Betul in south Goa, Puri had announced that ONGC would build a permanent exhibition-cum-conference venue at the vast unused land it held at the site.

The company spent some Rs 440 crore to build a 5,000-seat plenary auditorium and an expansive exhibition hall designed for large-scale conferences, summits, and exhibitions. This will host the 4th edition of IEW.

Anchored in the theme 'Energising Growth. Securing Economies. Enriching Lives', the 2026 edition marks the transition from global engagement and alignment to execution and scale. IEW will bring together 75,000+ energy professionals, 700+ exhibitors, 6,500+ delegates, 550+ speakers, 110+ sessions and 9+ country pavilions, positioning IEW as the world's second-largest energy conference and a leading forum for advancing energy security, sustainability, innovation and inclusive economic growth, according to Puri.

He said the exhibition is structured into 11 thematic zones and will host 11 country pavilions (Japan, UK, Germany, Italy, US, Netherlands, Norway, Canada, Russia, China).

Like in practice since India Energy Forum by CERAWeek, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will engage with global CEOs and captain's Indian energy industry on the sidelines of the conference to brainstorm on issues facing the sector. This meeting will be held in New Delhi on January 28, according to Puri.

Modi will virtually inaugurate IEW on January 27.