India’s increasingly powerful economy could be boosted if the country’s oil sector was self-sufficient. A new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers states India’s GDP would be up 6.5% if it didn’t import any crude oil and could produce its own.

The report, called ‘It’s our turn now: E&P partnership for energy security’, looked at why and how it is possible to unlock India’s hydrocarbon potential.

If half of the domestic need for oil was met by home production, that could create an extra $47.2 billion (£21.3bn), the report states.

Deepak Mahurkar, Leader on Oil and Gas at PwC India said: “Energy security is no longer just a desire but a critical imperative for India as it stands at the threshold of economic maturity.”

More than half of the country’s trade deficit is down to its oil trade deficit, suggests PwC analysis, which claimed this added to a weakening of the country’s currency, the rupee.

India imported around 182 million tonnes of oil equivalent in 2009, according to the International Energy Agency.