Natural Gas Pipeline Network authorized to create a national gas grid
- Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has authorized approximately 33,764 Km Natural Gas Pipeline Network across the country, as of march 2021.
- Its aim is to create a national gas grid and increase the availability of natural gas across the country.
- The authorized Natural Gas pipeline entity is allowed to lay spurlines as per the provision of the regulations.
- The existing and upcoming pipelines will form a basic National Gas Grid in the country.
Key points:
- Gas comprises about 6.2% of India’s primary energy mix, far behind the global average of 24%.
- The government plans to increase this share to 15% by 2030.
- India’s gas demand is expected to be driven by the fertilizer, power, city gas distribution, and steel sectors.
- India’s energy demand is expected to grow at 4.2% per year over the next 25 years.
- There was a 19.52% uptick in India’s gas production in June, according to the monthly production report released by ministry of petroleum and natural gas.
- Reliance Industries Ltd and its partner BP have been developing three deep-water gas developments in its KG D6 block, off the Andhra Pradesh coast, which together are expected to produce around 1 billion cubic feet a day of natural gas by 2023.
- Also, state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd has started gas production from its Krishna Godavari Basin field.
- Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved VGF for Jagdishpur-Haldia/Bokaro-Dhamra Natural Gas Pipeline (JHBDPL) Projects and North East Gas Grid (NEGG) project.
Government decisions to promote use of Clean Energy:
- Development of City Gas Distribution (CGD) networks supports the availability and accessibility of natural gas in the form of Piped Natural Gas (PNG) to households, industrial uses and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for transportation uses.
- Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board identifies GAs for authorizing the development of CGD network in synchronization with the development of natural gas pipeline connectivity and natural gas availability.
- With the aim to promote and sustain an efficient and robust gas market and to foster gas trading in the country, PNGRB has granted authorization to Indian Gas Exchange Limited to set up and operate Gas Exchange.
- In order to make natural gas affordable in far flung areas, PNGRB has notified Unified Tariff Regulations by way of Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (Determination of Natural Gas Pipeline Tariff) Second Amendment Regulations, 2020.
- To reduce fuel emissions by increasing the share of LNG in India's energy mix and to promote the usage of cleaner fuels in the future, PNGRB has allowed any entity to establish and operate LNG Stations in any GA or anywhere else in the country for dispensing LNG in liquid state, only to the transport sector.
- In order to increase competition in CGD areas, PNGRB has notified Guiding Principles for declaring City or Local Natural Gas Distribution Networks as common carrier or contact carrier Regulations to provide non- discriminatory open access to third party entities.
Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT):
- It was launched on 1st October 2018 aiming to establish an ecosystem for production of Compressed Bio Gas (CBG) from various waste/ biomass sources in the country.
- SATAT has envisaged developing 5000 CBG plants with a total CBG production capacity of 15 Million Metric TonnePer Annum (MMTPA).
- Under SATAT, Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, Gail (India) Limited and Indraprastha Gas Limited have invited Expression of interest (EoI) from potential entrepreneurs to procure CBG at an assured price.
- In response to the EoI invitation, Oil PSUs have issued 479 Letters of Intent (LoIs) till January 2020.
- At present, 2 CBG plants located at Pune and Kolhapur are operational and their produced CBG is being sold in Auto sector since September 2019.