| Date: |
03-06-2015 |
| Subject: |
India's natural gas output projected to rise 60 per cent in 4 years |
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NEW DELHI: India's natural gas output will rise about 60 per cent in four years, sufficient for less than 30 per cent of the local gas demand then, according to a projection in the annual report of the oil ministry.
The local gas production is expected to rise to 146.87 million metric standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd) in 2018-19, from 90.99 mmscmd in 2014-15. The projected output for 2014-15, however, was 98.15 mmscmd. The output is expected to touch 99.87 mmscmd in the current fiscal year.
The demand for natural gas has been projected to increase to 523 mmscmd by 2018-19 from 405 mmscmd in 2014-15, mainly driven by the power, city gas and industrial customers. In the current fiscal year, the demand is expected to climb 10 percent. The demand of gas is highly price sensitive, and the actual demand has varied widely from the projection in the past, the report warned.
"LNG (liquefied natural gas) imports into the country and development of downstream markets to ensure offtake will remain at the core of the changes in the natural gas sector in the near future," the report said.
A lower availability of cheap local gas and expensive LNG imports have kept many of India's power plants idle or underutilized. Local gas production fell 5.5% in 2014-15, when the country imported nearly a third of the natural gas it consumed.
The government has taken several steps to enhance the availability of gas in the country, including intensification of domestic exploration and production activities, development of shale gas policy framework, import of LNG, exploration in the Mining Lease Area with certain conditions and acquisition of overseas oil and gas assets, the annual report said.
Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com
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