NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a meeting with senior officials of the Petroleum Ministry to review the progress made in the gas transport infrastructure on September 10.
The meeting is likely to be attended by Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum, CMD of GAIL and officials of the Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) and other officials who are expected to apprise the Prime Minister about the gas grid.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had in his Budget speech stated that the government was ‘very keen’ to double the gas transport infrastructure from 15,000 km now under the public-private-partnership model to complete the gas grid.
The enhanced grid will promote usage of gas, both domestic and imported, reducing dependence on one source of energy.
The Finance Minister had also said the government will accelerate exploitation from coal bed methane reserves and evaluate old and closed wells to maximise production.
A strong gas pipeline infrastructure is a prerequisite for a mature gas market.
According to British Petroleum’s Statistical Review of World Energy 2014, India’s gas production dropped by 16.3 per cent in 2013 and has fallen by 33.8 per cent since 2010, due to ambiguity in gas pricing policy and Indian companies’ inability to boost gas production.
According to Indian government projections, demand for natural gas will increase from 242.66 million metric standard cubic meters per day in 2012-13 to 378.06 million in 2016-17, the last year of the current Five-Year Plan.
“To promote increased use of gas for a reduced carbon foot print in power, steel and other sectors, a strong gas grid in a prerequisite, the government is keen to have the new proposed grid in place by 2017. An enhanced grid net for gas will certainly reduce dependence of power and fertilizer plants on fossil fuel and also help reduce the fuel import bill,” an official pointed out.
GAIL, the state-owned gas transmission and marketing company, controls over 70% of the country’s pipeline network, and operates two major gas pipelines in northwestern India, these include the Hazira-Vijaipur-Jagadishpur (HVJ) line running from Gujarat to Delhi, and the Dahej-Vijaipur (DVPL) line.