Union Minister of Petroleum, Natural Gas and steel Dharmendra Pradhan has said that the central government aims to create a gas infrastructure in India with an investment of $60 billion over the period of next four years which includes laying gas pipelines and LNG terminals. He made this statement at the ASSOCHAM Foundation Week in a session- Energy Transition to fuel India’s growth path organized by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).
He informed that the government is envisaging a gas based economy by increasing the share of natural gas in India’s primary energy mix from 6.2 percent to 15 percent by the year 2030.
“Last year, the Prime minister announced the target of ‘One nation, One Gas Grid’. India is set to expand India’s natural gas grid to 34500 km by adding another 17000 km gas pipeline. The regasification capacity of the existing 42 million metric tonnes per annum will be expanded to 61 million metric tonnes per year by the year 2022,” he pointed out.
He informed that the coverage of city gas distribution projects have been expanded to include 232 new geographical areas spread over 400 districts with the potential to cover 53 percent of the country’s geographic and 70 percent of the population. “We plan to have 1000 LNG fuel stations. We are also tapping into huge biomass potential through National biofuel policy. The government is setting up 5000 CBG plants by the year 2023-24 with a production capacity of 15 million MT and an investment of $20 billion,” he added
Speaking at the event, Pradhan stated that the government is already reworking the transitional strategy not just to mitigate the effects of pandemic, but also to build back better. “Our energy demands have grown back to pre Covid levels particularly for petroleum products. Which is very good news,” he said.
He stated that the roadmap for the energy sector has been outlined by the prime minister of India in seven key drivers. “Efforts to move towards a gas based economy, cleaner use of fossil fuels particularly of petroleum and coal, greater reliance on domestic use of bio fuels, achieving renewable target of 450GW by 2030, increase in consumption of electricity to decarbonise mobility and moving into emerging fuels including hydrogen and digital innovations across all energy systems are the drivers,” he said.
Pradhan explained that the government has initiated the most significant reforms in building an Aatmanirbhar Bharat or self-reliant India. “We are building a clear road map being self-reliant in the energy sector with several smaller footprints, industrial friend and environment conscious,” he explained.
According to Pradhan, the government is moving from revenue generation to production maximisation to enhance the domestic production of crude oil and natural gas. “We now allow 100 percent FDI in the exploration and production projects. The government also permits 49 percent FDI in public sector refining under the automatic route. These reforms are translating for increased FDI for this sector,” he said.
He also explained that the energy sector will continue to play a pivotal role in the national development and the realization of the $5trillion economy status. “India is using only 6 percent of the world’s primary energy. Our per capita consumption of energy is only 40 percent of the global average. This is rapidly changing now as India is among one of the fastest growing large economies in the world,” he said.
Darshan Hiranandani, Chairman, ASSOCHAM National Council on Hydrocarbon and Petrochemicals and Managing Director, Hiranandani Group of Companies & CEO, H Energy, «India is taking critical steps in transitioning its energy platform for long term sustainability and moving towards a net zero future. Focus on natural gas, renewables, pump storage hydro and energy storage technologies will ensure that India will lead the world in sustainability.»
Akhil Mehrotra, CEO, Pipeline Infrastructure Limited, “India’s push for Energy transition has proven that climate concerns and GDP growth are not necessarily discordant and decarbonised growth is possible.”
Suresh Manglani, CEO, Adani Gas Ltd., «India remains at the forefront of energy transition with a multipronged approach towards energy access and security with due emphasis on natural gas as an environmentally sustainable solution. CGD vision laid down by the Government of India will certainly be instrumental in achieving credible energy transition.
Sunil Duggal, Group Chief Executive Officer, Vedanta, Natural gas is the key to India’s energy transition along with renewables. Oil and gas industry will continue to play a leading role in India’s energy security while ensuring India meets its commitments on carbon emissions.
Vipul Mathur, MD and CEO of Welspun group explained that the infrastructure development in the energy sector should be unified under one agency. “Just like the Jal se Nal initiative, the government should also have a similar initiative for the energy sector as well,” he said.
According to Pradhan, the government is moving from revenue generation to production maximisation to enhance the domestic production of crude oil and natural gas. “We now allow 100 percent FDI in the exploration and production projects. The government also permits 49 percent FDI in public sector refining under the automatic route.”