GAS AND POWER: India struggles to satisfy growing demand for gas
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/oet.12525 |
| Date | 01 September 2017 |
| Published date | 01 September 2017 |
GAS AND POWER
India struggles to satisfy growing demand for gas
With its energy consumption heavily depend ent on coal
andoil,Indiawantstoincreasetheroleofnaturalgasin
the mix. ere are plans to increase import s of liqueed
natural gas (LNG); but the government’s primary aim is
to increase domestic production.O utputhas been falling
in recent years, and last year’s total; of 2.7 bn cfd was just
55% of the total in 2010. Hopes of a revival arepinned on
a series of discoveries in the Bay of Bengal. ere are also
long-term plans to exploit t he country’s large reserves of
shale gas; but any signicant rev ival in India’soutput may
have to wait until the next decade.
Raising consumption
India’s energy consumption is dom inated by coal, which
accounts for nearly 57% of t he total, one of the hig hest
percentage shares in the world. Gas is down at a lowly
6%, compared with a global average of 24% (see Table B ).
e government’splan is to increase the share of gas in
the energy mix from 6 to 15% by the end of the decade,
as part of a wider eort to reduce the share of i mported
coal and oil. In an eort to boost the consumption of
natural gas, it has cut the state-controlled domestic gas
price from $3.06 to $2.50 per mn BTU. Households
are being encourage d to switch from oil and bi omass
for heating and cooking, the gas gr id is being extended
to supply more gas to industry, and the government is
encouraginggreateruseofcompressednaturalgasby
public transport.
India produces 2.7 bn cfd but must imp ort 2.1 bn cfd.
islastgureissettoriseoverthenextfewyearsinthe
absenceofanysignicantnewproductionintheshort
term.MostofIndia’simportsofLNGcomefromQatar.
Next year additional suppl ies from the US are scheduled
to start arriving and Bangl adesh has been approached
for supplies. e long-term plan, however, is for a big
boost to domest ic production. Proven reserves are a
comfortable 43.3 tcf (see Table C) and the total could
increase with further exploration oshore.
New production
India’s hopes of increased pro duction centre on a series
of deep-water elds in the Bay of Bengal in a block
Table B
India: Energy Consumption Mix, 2016
Fuel
Share of Consumption
(%)
Coal 56.9
Oil 29.4
Natural Gas 6.2
Hydro-Electricity 4.0
Renewable Energy 2.3
Nuclear Power 1.2
Total 100.0
Percentages rounded
Source: BP Statistical Review of World Energy,2017
Table C
India: Gas Prole, 2016
Proven Reserves 43.3 tcf∗
Reserves Remaining 44.4 years†
(bn cfd)
Production 2.7
Consumption 4.8
Net Imports 2.1
∗As of 1.1.17
†Based on 2016 production
Totals rounded
Source: (Reserves) Oil & Gas Journal
(Other) BP Statistical Review of World Energy,2017
known as KG-D6, which is to be developed by India’s
Reliance Industries and BP. e aim is to st art produc-
tion in 2020 with an output of 425 mn cfd, rising to
about 1 bn cfd in 2022. Further discoveries, here and
elsewhere oshore, are due to be develop ed aerward.
Some of the more optimist ic forecasts project a doubling
of India’s output sometime aer 2022. e government
hasoeredincentivestoexplorersbyraisingtheprice
paid for deep-water gas discoveries. e timetable for
KG-D6 nevertheless remains tight and could easily slip.
India’s imports of natural gas meanwhile will continue
to grow.
© 2017 John Wiley& Sons Ltd
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