Lok Sabha Question No. 3107 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-21
Subject: Trends in Import dependency on Natural Gas
Ministry: PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS
Asked by: Bharatiben Dhirubhai Shyal, Ravi Kishan Shukla, Gyaneshwar Patil, Chandra Prakash Joshi, Manoj Rajoria, Sumedhanand Saraswati, Ranjeeta Koli, Shankar Lalwani

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3107 TO BE ANSWERED ON 21 st  December 2023

## Trends in Import dependency on Natural Gas

## 3107. DR. BHARATIBEN DHIRUBHAI SHIYAL:

SHRI RAVI KISHAN:

SHRI GYANESHWAR PATIL:

SHRI CHANDRA PRAKASH JOSHI:

DR. MANOJ RAJORIA:

SHRI SUMEDHANAND SARASWATI:

SHRIMATI RANJEETA KOLI:

SHRI SHANKAR LALWANI

## पेोिलयम और ाक ृ ितक गैस मंी

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

- (a) the recent trends in India's import dependency on natural gas and the measures taken to reduce it;
- (b) the key drivers of this change;
- (c) the manner in which India is preparing to meet its energy demands and reduce its import dependency; and
- (d) whether his Ministry is working on any scheme in Rajasthan on the said subject and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## पेोिलयम और ाक ृ ितक गैस मंालय म राय मंी ( ी रामेर तेली ) MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS (SHRI RAMESWAR TELI)

(a) to (c) The India's import dependency on natural gas have shown decreasing trends during the last three years:

| Description                          |   2020-21 |   2021-22 |   2022-23 (P) |
|--------------------------------------|-----------|-----------|---------------|
| Import Dependency on Natural Gas (%) |      54.4 |      48.4 |          43.9 |

Source: PPAC       P: Provisional

The  reduction  in  import  dependency  is  mainly  due  to  recent  initiatives  taken  by  the Government of India, across country including Rajasthan, which inter-alia include reforms such  as  Hydrocarbon  Exploration  and  Licensing  Policy  (HELP),  Discovered  Small  Field (DSF)  Policy,  Open  Acreage  Licensing  (OALP)  Policy,  Policy  framework  for  exploration and exploitation of Coal Bed Methane (CBM), Relaxing processes and approvals to promote

'Ease of Doing Business', and fiscal incentives for   early monetization of fields along with Marketing  and  Pricing  freedom  for  natural  gas,  etc.  Government  has  also  launched Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) initiative in 2018, with the  aim  of  establishing  an  ecosystem  for  production  of  Compressed  Bio  Gas  (CBG)  from various  waste/  biomass sources.  Due  to  these  initiatives,  the  gross  domestic  production  of Natural gas has increased from 28.67 billion cubic meters (BCM) in 2020-21 to 34.45 BCM in 2022-23 showing a growth of more than 20% during this period.

(d) Government has awarded 16 exploration blocks covering a total exploration area of 20137 sq.km  in  the  state  of  Rajasthan  under  the  Open  Acreage  Licensing  Policy (OALP)  Bid Rounds. During the financial year 2022-23 total natural gas production in Rajasthan was 2.34 BCM which  is  around  7%  of  total  natural  gas  in  India  (34.45  BCM).  Under  Sustainable Alternative  Towards  Affordable  Transportation (SATAT)  Scheme,  One  CBG  Plant  has already been commissioned in the state of Rajasthan.

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