Though the country’s energy mix is presently dominated by coal and oil, the role of natural gas has increased steadily over the last decade and it currently accounts for about 10 per cent of primary energy consumption. However, the demand for natural gas in the country continues to outstrip its supply, especially now, when the production from KG-D6 block has fallen.
Nevertheless, gas demand is expected to continue to be strong in the country, fuelled primarily by continued economic and population growth and hence, growing demand for power. Continued switching to natural gas by fertiliser plants will also be a key driver of demand, particularly given the high price of alternative oil based feedstock. In addition, the rapid growth in the development of city gas distribution (CGD) networks over the next few years will further drive gas demand. Demand for natural gas is expected to increase on an annual growth rate of 14% in the XII Plan to reach 373 MMSCMD by 2016-17 from 194 MMSCMD in 2011-12.
Thus, given this huge increase in demand, significant capacity additions plans are being envisaged in the XII Plan, which are expected to offer huge investment opportunities to all the players across the oil & gas sector value chain. Moreover, Pvt./JV companies are expected to have a leading role during XII Plan period, with a production share of about 52% in natural gas, followed by ONGC and OIL with a share of 42% and 6%, respectively.
In this backdrop, as we step into the XII Plan, SNP Infra Research Solutions is coming out with a comprehensive report on titled "Natural Gas in India – Analysing Trends and Outlook". This report contains an in-depth analysis of the all the components of the sector. The key highlights of the report are:
