India Expects $5 Billion Investment in Natural Gas Pipelines in North

India expects companies to invest nearly $5 billion in a network of natural gas pipelines in its northern and northeastern states and federal territories, including Kashmir, India’s Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, said on Monday.  

Companies are expected to invest $4.95 billion (410 billion Indian rupees) in the construction of a network of pipelines in northern India as the country looks to boost the residential and industrial use of natural gas in the coming decades, Puri said at an event, as quoted by Reuters.

The minister on Monday awarded governmental letters of intent to the successful bidders in the country’s 12th bidding round for city gas distribution (CGD) networks.   

Puri reminded the audience in a ceremony that the federal government of India has set a target to invest $67 billion in the natural gas sector in the next six years to provide gas to the end consumers at stable prices, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural gas said in a statement today.

The government’s measures are expected to lead to a three-fold increase in domestic natural gas consumption by 2030 and also help in promoting industries using natural gas, the minister added.

India’s industry expansion and rising oil refining to meet higher fuel demand are set to drive a tripling of the country’s natural gas consumption by 2050, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said last month.

In 2022, India’s gas consumption amounted to 7.0 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), with over 70% of the demand coming from the industrial sector. By 2050, India’s natural gas consumption is set to more than triple to 23.2 Bcf/d, according to EIA’s estimates.  

Among India’s five consuming sectors, the industrial sector’s share of gas consumption will grow the most, rising to 80% of total consumption, followed by the transportation sector rising to 10%.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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