Correction:Firstpost had earlier misprinted 1 billion people as 100 billion. The figure has now been corrected to one billion
Mukesh Ambani, chairman of the world’s largest refinery, Reliance Industries Ltd, has said the US’ development of shale oil and gas will make the country energy-independent as early as 2018, reported Bloomberg.
“For many decades, we have heard that the US will be independent of foreign imports of energy,” Ambani was quoted as saying in an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria . “Realistically, it is my judgment this will happen in the next five to seven years.”
AFP
“The US has truly found non-conventional energy in shale oil and gas, which will really bring in benefits not only for the people in the US but for (everyone) across the world,” Ambani said.
He also said that the “fundamental transformation” in the US energy sector will help drive economic growth this year, adding that he was “more optimistic than most” about the global economy.
Asked about the probable impact on the oil prices in the event of a military strike on Iran, he said, “Today there is enough spare capacity in the system to take care of eventualities.”
Ambani is also bullish on the prospect of economies such as China, the European Union and the US, reported the Economic Times. He exuded optimism over India’s long-term growth, saying a billion people will ensure prosperity.
“India is a bottom-up story and not a top-down story. So we will adjust with what happens in the rest of the world, but we are on a long-term growth trajectory. And this is not growth only in terms of GDP numbers. This really is for the well-being of each and every Indian and that is the aspiration,” Ambani was quoted as saying in the report.
(Disclosure: The Reliance Group has funded the promoter of Network18, which publishes Firstpost).
Agencies
