India to launch 11th city gas bidding round

India will soon launch its 11th city gas licensing round covering areas in the central Indian states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, among others, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said today. The new round will increase demand for gas and boost LNG imports, as the country depends on overseas supplies to meet more than half of its needs.

Areas covered under the 11th bidding round will be in the vicinity of a proposed natural gas pipeline between Angul in Odisha state and Mumbai in the state of Maharashtra, transporting fuel from the east coast to the west coast. India is laying out gas infrastructure, including pipelines and LNG terminals, in the underserved eastern region to boost investments in downstream industries.

India plans to increase compressed natural gas (CNG) retail outlets to 10,000 in five years from around 2,300 now. It awarded 50 city gas area licences to 12 firms in the 10th bidding round in early 2019, according to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board. Winners will supply 20.3mn households and build 3,578 CNG stations for the transport sector between now and March 2029.

India wants gas to meet 15pc of energy consumption by 2030, up from 6pc now. Demand for the fuel fell to 5.33bn m³ in July, down by 1.8pc from 5.43bn m³ a year earlier but up from 4.93bn m³ in June, preliminary figures from the oil ministry show.

India's LNG receipts rose in July by 6pc from a year earlier to 2.96bn m³ of equivalent pipeline gas (2.3mn t), up from 2.79bn m³ a year earlier and 2.67bn m³ in June. The country's LNG import dependency rose to 56pc in July from 54pc in June and 51pc a year earlier.

By S Dinakar