Natural Gas and LNG

Natural gas is an environmentally cleaner fossil fuel that serves as a critical transition fuel in India’s energy mix. The Government of India has set a target to increase the share of natural gas in the primary energy mix from the current ~6.5% to 15% by 2030. To meet its domestic demand, India operates a dual system of domestic production and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) imports, making it the world’s fourth-largest importer of LNG. The geographical distribution of natural gas is tied to marine sedimentary basins, while downstream supply depends on an expanding National Gas Grid and city gas networks.

Geological Distribution and Key Gas Fields

The distribution of natural gas in India occurs as “associated gas” (found alongside crude oil) or “non-associated gas” (found in independent gas reservoirs).

Western Offshore Fields

• Bassein (Vasai) Gas Field: Located south of Mumbai High, this is India’s largest producing non-associated natural gas field. It acts as the anchor supply zone for the western and northern industrial corridors.
• Mumbai High: Produces significant quantities of associated natural gas, which is piped ashore to processing plants at Uran.
• Aliabet and Tapti Fields: Located in the Gulf of Khambhat and Surat depression respectively; these fields provide mid-size offshore gas yields.

Eastern Offshore Fields

• Krishna-Godavari (KG) Basin: The deep-water blocks of the KG Basin, particularly the KG-D6 block operated in the Bay of Bengal, represent India’s most significant deep-sea gas discoveries. These reservoirs tap into Pliocene and Miocene deltaic sands.
• Cauvery Offshore Basin: Provides localized offshore gas production supplying the southern peninsula.

Onshore Gas Fields

• Cambay Basin (Gujarat): Key onshore fields include Ankleshwar, Kalol, and Sanand, which provide associated gas to local petrochemical and fertilizer clusters.
• Assam Shelf: Fields like Naharkatiya, Moran-Hugrijan, and the newer discoveries in the Tripura fold belt produce associated gas utilized by local thermal plants and fertilizer units.
• Barmer Basin (Rajasthan): Focuses primarily on crude oil but extracts significant associated gas from the Mangala and Aishwarya structures.

LNG Infrastructure and Import Terminals

Because domestic production satisfies less than 50% of national consumption, India relies heavily on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) imports. Natural gas is liquefied at -162°C for maritime transit and super-chilled back to gas at regasification terminals along the coastline.

Operational Regasification Terminals

• Dahej LNG Terminal (Gujarat): Operated by Petronet LNG, this is India’s largest operational LNG import facility, acting as the primary entry point for Middle Eastern gas.
• Hazira LNG Terminal (Gujarat): A major merchant terminal operating on the western coast.
• Mundra LNG Terminal (Gujarat): Strengthens Gujarat’s position as the state with the highest concentration of LNG import infrastructure.
• Kochi LNG Terminal (Kerala): Operated by Petronet LNG; connects gas supply to the southern states via the Kochi-Koottanad-Bengaluru-Mangaluru pipeline.
• Dabhol LNG Terminal (Maharashtra): Integrated with a mega-power generation plant, providing gas to the western grid.
• Ennore LNG Terminal (Tamil Nadu): The first major LNG terminal on the east coast, serving industrial clusters around Chennai.
• Dhamra LNG Terminal (Odisha): A critical recent infrastructure addition on the eastern coast, designed to supply gas to the eastern and northeastern states through the Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga pipeline.

Gas Pipeline Network and the National Gas Grid

The transmission of natural gas from production fields and LNG terminals to consumption centers is managed via an expanding National Gas Grid, primarily operated by GAIL (India) Limited.

HVJ Pipeline (Hazira-Vijaipur-Jagdishpur)

This is India’s first cross-country natural gas pipeline, commissioned in the late 1980s. It originates at Hazira in Gujarat, passes through Vijaipur in Madhya Pradesh, and terminates at Jagdishpur in Uttar Pradesh. It forms the backbone of the inland fertilizer and power sector, feeding units across Rajasthan, Haryana, and UP.

Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga Project

Also known as the Jagdishpur-Haldia & Bokaro-Dhamra Pipeline (JHBDPL), this project spans over 2,600 km. It connects the gas grids of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Odisha. It plays a dual geographic role: reviving sick fertilizer units at Gorakhpur, Barauni, and Sindri, and supplying gas to City Gas Distribution (CGD) networks across eastern India.

Northeast Gas Grid (Indradhanush Gas Grid)

A pipeline grid connecting the seven northeastern states. It links the National Gas Grid via the Barauni-Guwahati pipeline, ensuring energy integration for the geographically isolated Northeast sedimentary basins.

Unconventional Gas Resources in India

India’s geography contains significant reserves of unconventional hydrocarbons that supplement conventional natural gas fields.

Coal Bed Methane (CBM)

CBM is an unconventional form of natural gas trapped within subsurface coal seams. India holds significant CBM potential, concentrated within the Gondwana coal fields.

• Major CBM Blocks: Raniganj South (West Bengal), Jharia and Bokaro (Jharkhand), Sohagpur (Madhya Pradesh), and Shahdol (Madhya Pradesh).

Shale Gas

Shale gas is trapped within low-permeability shale rock formations and requires hydraulic fracturing for extraction.

• Identified Shale Basins: The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) has identified primary basins for shale exploration: Cambay Basin (Gujarat), Gondwana Basin (Madhya Pradesh/Chhattisgarh), Krishna-Godavari Basin (Andhra Pradesh), and the Cauvery Basin (Tamil Nadu).

Gas Hydrates

Gas hydrates are crystalline ice-like structures formed by water and natural gas under high pressure and low temperature conditions. India’s deep offshore exclusive economic zones hold vast gas hydrate potential.

• Key Potential Sites: The National Gas Hydrate Program (NGHP) identified massive gas hydrate accumulations in the Krishna-Godavari, Mahanadi, and Andaman offshore basins.

Institutional Framework and Policy Initiatives

• Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB): The statutory body tasked with regulating downstream activities, ensuring competitive markets, and registering city gas distribution networks.
• One Nation, One Gas Grid: A policy blueprint aimed at connecting all major supply sources (LNG terminals and domestic fields) to all major consumption hubs across India via a unified pipeline tariff system.
• SATAT Initiative (Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation): Launched to promote the production and utilization of Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) from agricultural residue, cattle dung, and municipal solid waste, integrating organic gas production into the domestic gas network.
• Gas-Based Economy Roadmap: Focuses on complete clean-fuel switching by offering pricing freedom for gas produced from deep-water, ultra-deepwater, and high-pressure-high-temperature fields to incentivize domestic exploration.

Key Facts for Prelims

• Uran Processing Plant: Located near Mumbai, this GAIL facility processes the associated gas piped directly from Mumbai High, separating LPG, ethane, and propane before distributing natural gas.
• Unified Tariff Policy: Introduced by PNGRB to simplify gas transit costs, replacing the older incremental “distance-based” tariff system with a uniform zonal structure to make gas affordable for industries located far from coastal LNG terminals.
• City Gas Distribution (CGD) Rounds: Geographic bidding rounds conducted by PNGRB that have brought over 95% of India’s population under geographical areas authorized for Piped Natural Gas (PNG) for households and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for vehicles.
• First Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU): India’s first commercial FSRU commenced operations at Jaigarh Port in Maharashtra, offering a flexible offshore alternative to permanent land-based LNG regasification terminals.