Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas dedicated to the nation India’s first small-scale liquefied natural gas (SSLNG) unit at GAIL (India) Ltd’s Vijaipur complex in Madhya Pradesh.
Key points
- SSLNG refers to the liquefaction of natural gas and its transportation using unconventional means in a significantly smaller-scale operation than the usual large-scale liquefaction, regasification, and transportation infrastructure and processes.
- The government is taking steps for the adoption and use of natural gas across sectors, and aims to increase the share of natural gas in its primary energy mix to 15% by 2030 from a little more than 6% at present.
- Natural gas is far less polluting than conventional hydrocarbons like coal and oil; it is also cheaper than oil, more than 85% of India’s requirement for which is met through costly imports.
- Natural gas is seen as a key transition fuel in India’s journey towards green energy and future fuels.
- LNG offers a slightly longer range to vehicles than diesel with similar-sized fuel tanks, and is usually cheaper than crude oil, from which diesel is derived.
- Although India imports around half of its natural gas requirement, this dependency level is much lower than in the case of crude oil.
- Replacing a major chunk of India’s diesel consumption by LNG could lead to substantial foreign exchange savings.
