India Courts Foreign Investment to Boost Natural Gas Usage

SEATTLE (Oil Monster): India is positioning itself to increase both domestic production and foreign investment in natural gas, according to the country’s minister of oil and gas Dharmendra Pradhan.

The minister said an event in New Delhi last Friday that India is seeking to attract greater levels of investment to expand its gas infrastructure and boost domestic usage.

The strategy is in line with the Indian government’s policies to increase the share of gas in its national energy mix from approximately 6% to 15% by 2030.

Pradhan detailed that India is currently expanding its regasification capacity, constructing new liquefied natural gas (LNG) import facilities and growing its gas pipeline network to connect multiple domestic districts via a central natural gas supply.

The Asian giant will also provide “marketing and pricing freedom to the operators,” said Pradhan, meaning India will relinquish federal control of gas prices to encourage market competition.

In early June India’s Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board stated that firms aiming to establish LNG dispensing stations would not require a license to do so.

The country’s largest importer of LNG, Petronet LNG, also detailed on Friday that it aims to establish over 1,000 LNG stations throughout the country in future.

According to its plan for LNG station development, Petronet will have established 50 LNG stations on five of India’s major highways by the end of 2021 fiscal year. This total will be increased to a cumulative total of 300 LNG stations during 2022-2023 with an ultimate goal of over 1,000 stations in the future.

Courtesy: www.kallanishenergy.com