Natural Gas Task force announced

India and the United States have reaffirmed strong commitment to implementation of civil nuclear partnership, including the Westinghouse Electric civil nuclear project at Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh.

“Cooperation in this area is being pursued through relevant bilateral mechanisms,” said a statement Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan and U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry co-chaired the inaugural meeting of the U.S.-India Strategic Energy Partnershipin New Delhi on 17 April 2018.

As a first step in realizing the full potential of the Strategic Energy Partnership, the two countries have announced the U.S.-India Natural Gas Task Force.

The Task Force provides a team of U.S. and Indian industry experts with a mandate to propose, develop, and convey, innovative policy recommendations to the Indian Government in support of its vision for natural gas in the economy.

The work of the Task Force is expected to advance the strategic and economic interests of both the United States and India.

The Pradha-Perry meeting noted with appreciation the growing investment of Indian companies in the United States and the beginning of oil and gas exports from the United States to India.

Under the Partnership, the US and India are pursuing four primary pillars of cooperation: (1) Oil and Gas; (2) Power and Energy Efficiency; (3) Renewable Energy and Sustainable Growth; and (4) Coal.

Both parties may consider establishing additional pillars of cooperation based on mutual agreement.

Meanwhile, both countries’ Strategic Energy Partnership teams will convene soon to further develop action plans for the respective pillars of cooperation.

The U.S. and Indian co-chairs will receive reports from the pillar teams on a regular basis. fii-news.com