Global Energy Roundup: Adani Targets Nuclear, Suriname Gas Find, India Cuts Coal Imports

Adani Group, the conglomerate of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, is targeting 10 gigawatts of nuclear power capacity in India by 2035, according to OilPrice.com. Gautam Adani announced the plan on Wednesday, stating the move is "towards securing India's long-term energy future." India has opened its civil nuclear power sector to private investment and has a national goal of boosting installed nuclear capacity to 100 GW by 2047, up from 8.8 GW now. Adani Group is reportedly in talks with the state government of Uttar Pradesh on a public-private partnership to build small modular reactors (SMRs).

Separately, Malaysia’s state energy firm Petronas has made a natural gas discovery offshore Suriname, OilPrice.com reported. Suriname's president said he expects Petronas to make a final investment decision on developing Block 52 by the end of the year. The country aims to become a major oil and gas producer in South America by the end of the decade, following the success of neighboring Guyana. Petronas has already made three gas discoveries in Block 52, with the Sloanea field declared commercial late last year.

In other energy news from India, the country is boosting the share of domestic coal used in power plants designated to run on imported fuel, according to OilPrice.com. Industry and government officials said on Wednesday that India has raised the use of domestic coal to 50% at many such plants, with some reaching a 70% share. Higher domestic coal production and expanding renewable energy installations have helped cut India's thermal coal imports to a four-year low between January and May. Despite this, coal remains a key pillar of India’s electricity mix, accounting for about 60% of total power output, and officials state coal will be a key part of the power system for the next two decades.

These global developments underscore ongoing shifts in energy investment and fuel sourcing. India's parallel pushes for massive nuclear expansion and increased domestic coal use reflect a complex energy strategy aimed at ensuring power supply while reducing import dependency. The nuclear ambitions of private conglomerates like Adani and Reliance Industries signal a significant new avenue for capital investment in non-fossil baseload power. Meanwhile, Suriname's emerging gas resources, alongside Guyana's oil boom, continue to draw international operator interest to new offshore basins.