Lok Sabha Question No. 205 (STARRED), answered on 2023-08-03
Subject: Demand of Natural Gas
Ministry: PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS
Asked by: Sambhajirao Mane Dhairyasheel, Shrirang Appa Barne

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION No. 205

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 3 rd  August, 2023

## Demand of Natural Gas

## *205. SHRI DHAIRYASHEEL SAMBHAJIRAO MANE: SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE:

## पेोलयम और ाक ृ तक गैस मंी

Will the Minister of PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS be pleased to state:

(a)  whether  India's natural  gas  demand  is  likely  to  grow  considerably  over  the  next few  years  putting substantial pressure of gas import from other countries;

(b) if so, the details thereof along with the corrective measures taken/being taken by the Government in this regard;

(c) whether the Government/Indian Oil Companies are planning to build a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal in Iraq to acquire cheap gas from abroad and if so, the details thereof;

(d)  whether  the  Government  has  signed  any  agreement  with  Iraq  in  this  regard  and  if  so,  the  details thereof;

(e) whether the Government has sent/proposes to send a dedicated team of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. and Engineers India Ltd. to Iraq to study the feasibility of establishing liquefaction plant in Iraq and if so, the details thereof; and

(f) whether the Government is planning to sign such accord or establish LNG terminal in other countries also to procure cheap energy and if so, the details thereof, country-wise?

## ANSWER

पेोलयम और ाक ृ तक गैस मंी ( ी हरदप संह पुर )

## MINISTER OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS (SHRI HARDEEP SINGH PURI)

(a) to (f)  A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (f)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 205 ASKED BY SHRI DHAIRYASHEEL SAMBHAJIRAO MANE AND SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE, MPs TO BE ANSWERED ON 3 RD  AUGUST, 2023.

(a) & (b) The Government has set a target to raise the share of natural gas in energy mix to 15% by 2030 from  about  6%  now.  Various  steps  are  being  taken  by  the  Government  in  this  direction  including expansion of National Gas Grid Pipeline, expansion of City Gas Distribution (CGD) network, setting up of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Terminals, Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) initiatives, etc.

Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has authorised approximately 33,592 km natural  gas  pipeline  network  across  the  country  out  of  which  23,173  km  natural  gas  pipeline  are operational and a total of 12,206 km length of pipelines are under various stages of construction.

PNGRB has authorized 300 Geographical Areas (GAs) covering about 98% of the population and 88%  of  total  geographical  area  of  the  country  spread  over  around  630  districts  in  28  states/UTs  for development  of  CGD  network  across  the  country.  As  on  31.05.2023,  5,767  CNG  stations  have  been commissioned and 1.12 crore Piped Natural Gas (domestic) connections provided by the CGD entities.

Gross  domestic  production  of  natural  gas  has  increased  by  approximately  20%  from  28,672 MMSCM in 2020-21 to 34,450 MMSCM in 2022-23. India imported 26,304 Million Metric Standard Cubic Meters (MMSCM) Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) during 2022-23. At present, the country has 7 operational LNG re-gasification terminals with combined capacity of approx. 47.7 Million Metric Tons Per Annum (MMTPA).

For  increasing  domestic  gas  production,  Government  of  India  has  notified  Hydrocarbon Exploration  and  Licensing  Policy  (HELP)  on  30 th March  2016  for  the  award  of  exploration  acreages shifting  from  Production  Sharing  mechanism  to  Revenue  Sharing  mechanism.  Government  further notified  the  policy  reforms  on  28 th February  2019,  where  many  of  the  processes  and  approvals  were relaxed to promote 'Ease of Doing Business', Revenue Share from Category II & III type of basins were removed, except for windfall gains, 7 years Royalty Holiday for Deep & Ultra-deep blocks, concessional Royalty Rates for Deepwater and for ultra-deep water blocks, and fiscal incentives have been provided for early monetization of fields along with Marketing and Pricing freedom for natural gas.

Ministry  of  Petroleum  and  Natural  Gas  has  also  launched  'Sustainable  Alternative  Towards Affordable  Transportation  (SATAT)'  initiative  on  1 st October  2018,  with  the  aim  of  establishing  an ecosystem for production of Compressed Bio Gas (CBG), which can replace natural gas, from various waste/ biomass sources and for promoting its use along with Natural Gas so far, 48 CBG plants have been commissioned.

(c)  to  (f)  There  is  readiness  of  Indian  companies  to  explore  investment  opportunities  in  Iraq/other countries, in view of the increasing demand of oil and gas in the domestic market.

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