The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has prepared a draft liquefied natural gas (LNG) policy that aims to set up a framework for the promotion of gas and find alternatives for LNG adoption in sectors which are currently not using it as a fuel. The government has already announced plans to have 1,000 LNG retail outlets, entailing investment of Rs 100 billion, in the next five years, and the policy will facilitate achievement of this target.
The policy aims to create LNG terminals with more than 100 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) along the coastal regions to increase the share of gas in the energy basket to 15 per cent by 2030 from the current level of 6 per cent. Currently, the total capacity of operational LNG import terminals in the country is 42.5 mtpa. The policy also aims to create 70 mtpa of regasification terminals by 2030 and 100 mtpa by 2040.