India joins the club of progressive economies
India has taken a first step towards the free-market pricing for natural gas with the launch of the Indian Gas Exchange (IGX) in an e-ceremony on 15 June 2020.
Speaking at the commencement of trading on IGX, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said with this landmark, India is joining the club of progressive economies.
As there will be a market-driven pricing mechanism, IGX will play a bigger role towards realizing a free market for gas, he said.
Incorporated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the IEX, India’s energy market platform, IGX will enable market participants to trade in standardised gas contracts.
The platform is fully automated with a web-based interface to provide a seamless trading experience to the customers.
The minister also informed that the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) is working on the rationalization of tariffs to make natural gas affordable in every part of the country.
The government has no business to be in business and the consumer is the king in a free market, Pradhan stressed.
He also said that through IGX, India’s vision on mega investments on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals, gas pipelines, CGD infrastructure and permission for market-driven price mechanism will be materialized.
Referring to the various initiatives taken to make India a gas-based economy, the Minister pointed out that the Indian gas market has multiple price bands for assets including pre-NELP, NELP, High Temperature and High Pressure (HTHP) and Deepwater and Ultra Deep Water blocks.
He said that the country will soon have 50 MMT LNG terminal capacity.
He said that the country has long-term gas contracts with many countries like Qatar, Australia, Russia and the US, and has made investments abroad in strategic assets in Mozamibque, Russia and other countries.
He also mentioned about various ongoing projects to strengthen the gas infrastructure in the country like Urja Ganga, Eastern India grid, Indradhanush project in the North-east, Dhamra-Dahej pipeline, coal gasification and CBM policy. He said that country will have more than 30,000km of pipeline in next few years
The new electronic trading platform for natural gas is the biggest indicator of the centre’s progressive policy as it completes the entire energy value chain from gas production from multiple sources and imports of LNG from different parts of the globe to having a transparent price mechanism, he explained. fiinews.com
