Natural Gas Sector in India

Why in news?

• Various infrastructure projects related to improvement of utilisation of natural gas in India has been in news.

Why Natural Gas?

• Natural gas is a superior fuel as compared with coal and other liquid fuels because it is
  • Environment friendly and safer: Natural gas emits less carbon as compared to coal and other fossil fuels.
  • Cheaper fuel: Natural Gas (as CNG) is cheaper by 60% as compared with petrol. Similarly, Natural Gas (as PNG) is cheaper by 40 % as compared with market price LPG.
  • Save space: Natural Gas is supplied through pipelines just like one gets water from the tap. There is no need to store cylinders in the kitchen and thus saves space

Natural Gas scenario in India:

• In FY 2018-19, the total gas consumption in India was around 148. million standard cubic meters per day (mmscmd).
• The share of domestic gas and imported RLNG was about 48% & 52% respectively.
• Fertiliser industry is the biggest user of natural gas accounting for 27% of consumption followed by power (22%) and City gas distribution (17%).
• At present, there are about 17000 km long Natural Gas pipeline network which is operational in the country.
• In order to make available natural gas across the country, it has been envisaged to develop additional about 15,000 km pipelines to complete the National Gas Grid and same are at various stages of development.

Gas supply sources in India:

• Domestic Gas Sources:
  • The domestic gas in the country is being supplied from the oil & gas fields located at western and southeastern areas viz. Hazira basin, Mumbai offshore & KG basin as well as North East Region (Assam & Tripura).
  • Pricing and utilization of domestic gas is as per policies issued by the Government from time to time.
  • In FY 2018-19, total domestic gas production was about 90.05 MMSCMD.
• Import of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG):
  • In order to meet the gas demand, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is imported through Open General License (OGL) in the country.
  • The price and utilization of imported LNG is mutually decided by buyers and sellers. At present, country is having six (6) operational LNG regasification terminals operational with capacity of about 38.8 MMTPA (~ 140 MMSCMD).

About CGD Network

• Government aims to promote the usage of environment friendly clean fuel i.e. natural gas as a fuel/feedstock across the country to move towards a gas-based economy.
• Accordingly, development of CGD networks has been focused to increase the availability of cleaner cooking fuel (i.e. PNG) and transportation fuel (i.e. CNG) to the citizens of the country.
• The expansion of CGD network will also benefit to industrial and commercial units by ensuring the uninterrupted supply of natural gas.

What is Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)?

• CNG is made by compressing natural gas, which is mainly composed of methane (CH4), to less than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure.
• It is a fuel that can be used in place of gasoline, diesel fuel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
• CNG combustion produces fewer undesirable gases than the aforementioned fuels.
• In comparison to other fuels, natural gas poses less of a threat in the event of a spill, because it is lighter than air and disperses quickly when released.

 What is Liquefied natural gas (LNG)?

• Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas that has been cooled down to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport.
• It takes up about 1/600th the volume of natural gas in the gaseous state
• It is odorless, colorless, non-toxic and non-corrosive.
• Natural gas is mainly converted to LNG for transport over the seas where laying pipelines is not feasible technically and economically.
• Specially designed cryogenic sea vessels (LNG carriers) or cryogenic road tankers are used for LNG transport.
• LNG is principally used for transporting natural gas to markets, where it is regasified and distributed as pipeline natural gas.

PRELIMS QUESTION

Consider the following statements:
1.Natural Gas is a cleaner source of energy when compared to petroleum.
2.More than 40% of natural gas demand in India is being met from domestic sources.
Which among the above statements is/are correct?
(a)1 only 
(b)2 only 
(c)Both 1 and 2
(d)Neither 1 nor 2

Answer to prelims question