India’s evolving gas strategy India is shifting the focus of its natural gas policy agenda away from upstream reforms and toward midstream and downstream initiatives ANDREW KEMP
I
ndian prime minister Narendra Modi’s government has long been pushing for greater consumption of natural gas as it seeks to
transform the country into a gas-based economy. The government has, since coming to power in 2014, introduced a range of policies pushing upstream reforms, infrastructure development and market deregulation. The ultimate goal is to expand gas’ share of the country’s primary energy mix from around 6% at present to 15% by 2030. In his first term in office, Modi sought to achieve this goal by focusing on a number of reforms targeting the exploration and production segment. His administration hoped that an uptick in gas reserves and production would lead to greater economic activity, lower prices and a reduction in the country’s growing dependence on imports. With limited results on this front, however, the Modi administration shifted tack in its second term, PHOTO: ONGC
focusing more on broadening the country’s gas
JUNE 2021
