Natural Gas in India

India's energy consumption pattern is in transition. The share of gas in the primary commercial energy mix is likely to rise from its current level of 8 % to 20 % by 2024-25. Large gas discoveries in the eastern offshore basin, which came into production in 2009, have doubled domestic supply. However, national gas policies, which were formulated during an era of shortages, have only recently begun to readjust to the emergence of gas as a potential competing fuel in India's energy basket. The Indian gas sector has often been viewed by international observers as an uncertain environment full of policy detail. In light of recent policy changes aimed at cultivating a market-oriented form of functioning, there is a real need for understanding the dynamics of policymaking in the sector. This book suggests that there is a 'bigger story' in the Indian gas sector, and attempts to guide the reader through the reasoning behind its policy construct. The book is organised in two parts; the first part sets out the factual basis for a policy discussion, through an incisive analysis of supply options, and of three major demand assessments for gas. It concludes that the market for Indian gas has failed to develop despite the fact that conditions for a market exist. The second part investigates the reasons for this failure through scrutiny of major government policies. It sets out how there are seemingly conflicting aims in the government's 'Gas Utilisation Policy', and investigates the set of policy tools that have been adopted to reconcile these aims, thus demystifying much of the complex policy matter on Indian gas. The analysis then goes further into the investigation of the main variables which shape the potential future of the Indian gas market, through a study of gas pricing. The conclusions draw out a set of suggestions on potential issues which require resolution or further analyses, in order for gas to fulfil its potential role in India's economic progress. More

Anil Jain has studied the natural gas scenario in India with a focus on the evolving policy framework. He is a member of the Indian Administrative Service, the federal civil service of India. He holds a Bachelors Degree with Honours in Economics, an MBA in Marketing, and a Diploma from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi. He has over two decades of administrative experience both at field and policy formulation levels. He has held senior positions in the provincial and federal Governments of India in the Ministries of Agriculture, Mining, Revenue and Petroleum & Natural Gas. During 2003 to 2008, as Director and Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas of the Government of India, he piloted a programme of international cooperation in the Indian petroleum exploration sector. He has been closely associated with the development of the natural gas sector (including award of acreages, development of discoveries, pricing and distribution) and a competitive market.

More