Natural gas will continue to see wider adoption in India, says Jain
India’s emergence as the demand centre for energy in the world provides arbitrage opportunities around the globe for procuring natural gas, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas Secretary Pankaj Jain said at an international conference on 8 Feb 2024.
Speaking at the Spotlight Session titled ‘India – a blueprint of energy transition for emerging economies’ at India Energy Week (IEW) 2024 in Goa, he highlighted that opportunities to execute natural gas procurement deals much below the market rate exists, and the Indian government is encouraging such sellers to engage in negotiations.
“As a cornerstone of energy transition, natural gas will continue to see wider adoption in India due to infrastructure upgradation in terms of terminal capacity and pipeline network,” Jain said.
Diversification of fuel sources, both domestically and globally, was key to making the cleaner natural gas available to consumers.
Referring to sectors that can enhance the current level of natural gas usage in the country, the Secretary said that scaling of gas-based mobility and expansion of piped gas connections to homes would also be demand drivers for natural gas.
Addressing the question of inviting global energy companies to operate in the country, the Jain informed that the entities in the energy ecosystem need to be assured that India is a different place to conduct business now.
He pointed out that removal of a million square kilometres of no-go zones for exploration and production was one such step in the direction.
The Secretary also underscored the IEW 2024 importance, saying it provided an opportunity for exhibitors to showcase unique solutions to energy problems.
He pointed to various solution being developed by start-ups as examples and mentioned the electrolyser displayed by BPCL as a success story for indigenous technology development.
Moreover, Jain elaborated that expediting and expanding adoption of biofuels was incumbent on scaling up production of the fuel at an affordable cost.
He pointed out that recent progress in two key areas of biofuel production — feedstock collection and processing facilities — bodes well for the future.
“Some years ago, it was unimaginable that municipal solid waste could be segregated. But it’s happing now.”
Jain added that the government was working on mechanisation, infrastructure support and improving local networks to improve aggregation of feedstock.
The secretary also lauded the small and medium enterprises as the unsung heroes of biofuel production enhancement. Fiinews.com
