India is a country that is rich in energy resources. Concerning oil, proven reserves are already abundant, but there are some who think that a very large potential remains to be discovered, since the country is one of the least throughly explored in the world. The recent opening up of energy industries to private and foreign capital should speed up the development of exploration, refining and petrochemicals. However, even if numerous projects were to be approved by the Government, actually carrying them out does not always ensue because of conditions that are not always judged to be attractive by potential investors. Despite all this, there are some who think that India will be a power equal to ii not greater than China and one that is already upholding the comparison with the Southeast Asian dragons.