India to Double LNG Import
India plans to double its LNG import capacity in one year to augment gas based transport systems. The country will seek help from Russia and the US to make such ambitious plan possible.
India plans to more than double its liquefied natural gas (LNG) annual import capacity to 50 million tonnes in the next few years, PTI reports quoting Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
"We currently have LNG import and regassification capacity of 21 million tonnes. We plan to raise this to 50 million tonnes in the next few years," Pradhan said adding, "We would like to raise the share of natural gas in the energy basket to 15 per cent in the next 3-5 years."
The minister said that as part of the strategy to move towards a gas-based economy, the first LNG-driven bus is likely to start plying in Kerala early next month. The LNG experiment will be extended to long-haul commercial vehicles and trains in future, Pradhan added.
Government sources say that moving from diesel to LNG could save at least 40% in fuel costs per year. India’s Railway Ministry is seeking help from Russia and the US for procuring LNG turbine locomotives.
India's natural gas demand is expected to grow from 473 million standard cubic meter per day (mmscmd) now to 494 mmscmd in 2017-18 and 523 mmscmd in 2018-19.
