India and Canada intend to deepen collaboration on energy while hastening negotiations to conclude a broad-based free-trade agreement. Such an arrangement will involve a bilateral flow of energy where Canada supplies crude oil and natural gas to India, which reciprocates with processed fuel.
A delegation of Canadian negotiators will visit New Delhi early next month to attend the sixth round of negotiations on the free trade agreement, sources said. Efforts are underway by both sides to finalize the negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement prior to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s anticipated trip to Canada around mid-December, sources further revealed.
The oil sands in Canada are regarded as the fourth-largest oil reserve globally. Moreover, Canada ranks itself as the fourth-largest producer of crude oil globally following the United States, Russia, and Saudi Arabia. In addition, the country is ranked the fifth-largest natural gas producer.
Canada and India can create a strong energy value chain because while Canada is among the leading producers of oil and gas, India is regarded as the third-largest consumer of crude oil globally after the US and China. Additionally, India is ranked second as the largest consumer of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), commonly referred to as cooking gas, and fourth in terms of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) consumption.
