Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri stated that the government has set the target to raise the share of natural gas in the energy mix to 15 percent by 2030 from 6 percent as present. In a reply in Lok Sabha, the Union Minister informed that various measures are being taken in this direction including expansion of National Gas Grid pipeline, expansion of City Gas Distribution network among others. He also stated that gross domestic production of natural gas has increased by nearly 20 percent in the last financial year. Mr. Puri further said that Indian companies are ready to explore investment opportunities in Iraq and other countries in view of the increasing demand of oil and gas in the domestic market.
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) is actively pursuing the integration of green hydrogen with natural gas through the existing transmission lines. The regulatory body is prioritizing the use of the current 33,000 KM of Natural Gas Transmission pipelines, 24,000 KM of which are operational, while the remainder is under construction, for this purpose.
At a significant stakeholder interaction convened on March 7, 2024, PNGRB, in collaboration with the World Bank and ICF, deliberated on a draft report aimed at carving out "Pathways for Hydrogen transmission in Natural gas pipelines and City Gas Distribution networks".
Minister Hardeep Puri in a bid to revolutionise the energy landscape and promote sustainable development, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) concluded the 12th City Gas Distribution (CGD) Bidding Round, paving the way for comprehensive coverage of the country's area. The event, graced by Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Housing, and Urban Affairs, witnessed the distribution of Letters of Intent to successful bidders, marking a significant milestone in India's energy sector. The government's current plans would triple natural gas consumption from 185 MMSCMD to 500 MMSCMD by 2030, supporting auxiliary businesses that rely on natural gas. This demonstrates the government's dedication to supporting a healthy ecology for the production and distribution of natural gas", Minister Puri added.
Six North Eastern states and two Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh will see Rs 41,000 crore investment in rollout of city gas network to retail CNG to automobiles and piped cooking gas to houses over the next few year was stated by Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri at a function to award licences to the winners of 12th city gas distribution (CGD) bidding round. He further said with the award of licences for 8 geographical areas covering 103 districts in six north eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim and Mizoram and two Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, the city gas network now covers the entire country except the islands. CGD bidding round is Rs 41,000 crore generating considerable employment opportunities.
The government of India has implemented reforms to increase the share of gas to 16 per cent in the energy mix by 2030, including mandatory biogas blending, expanding the city gas distribution network, and setting up more LNG terminals.
India's energy sector faced several hurdles in the fiscal year 2023-24, marked by rising crude oil prices, geopolitical tensions, demand and supply disruptions, and stagnant domestic production.
The country's oil and gas production saw muted growth, leading to increased dependency on imports reaching 87.7 per cent till February 2024. However, the import bill declined due to discounts from Russia, the top supplier.
Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. (Osaka Gas) recently announced that its subsidiary OSAKA GAS SINGAPORE PTE. LTD. (OGS) has reached an agreement with Sumitomo Corporation (Sumitomo) and Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport & Urban Development
(JOIN) to invest in AG&P LNG Marketing Pte. Ltd. (AG&P LNG Marketing), aiming to boost AG&P LNG Marketing’s city gas distribution (CGD) business in India.
This investment will be made through a Japanese consortium jointly owned by OGS, Sumitomo, and JOIN. This marks OGS’ second major investment in the CGD business in India, following the first one in 2021. OGS intends to establish a medium- to long-term revenue stream in
India while contributing to a stable supply of low-carbon energy.
Close on the heels of receiving approval from the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB), the Indian Gas Exchange (IGX) has launched contracts for small-scale Liquefied Natural Gas (ssLNG) on its platform in a bid to address the demand for fuel in areas not connected to the national gas grid.
“The introduction of ssLNG contracts on IGX aims to address the growing gas demand from industries and CGD (City Gas Distribution) companies that do not have access to pipeline networks,” IGX said in a statement.
Through ssLNG, they can now procure liquefied gas through LNG tankers at competitive rates under daily, fortnightly and monthly contracts. Initially, this contract is launched at Dahej and Hazira LNG terminals in Gujarat.
More than 400 oil and gas projects were approved globally in the last two years despite calls to abandon all new hydrocarbon development, new figures showed as the UN COP28 climate talks opened. With greenhouse gas emissions threatening to heat the planet to catastrophic levels, countries at the talks in Dubai are under pressure to agree to phase out oil, gas and coal in order to meet the Paris Agreement goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees. Nearly 200 private and public corporations across 58 countries were involved in the 437 new fossil fuel projects, according to figures from the he nonprofit Reclaim Finance, based on data from Rystad Energy consultants.
India CGD Forum is a platform to bring India’s leading gas utilities, policy makers, regulators, industry experts to learn from each other’s experiences and collaborate to bring innovation and smartness into India’s city gas distribution sector.