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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday urged major Asian LNG buyers to band up to demand a fair pricing mechanism for gas being imported from outside Asia.
India should contribute towards such an effort in future, as Asia has been the driver of global LNG demand in recent times, he said.
Singh was here to dedicate to the nation the Rs 4,500-crore five-million-tonne capacity LNG terminal constructed by Petronet LNG Ltd at Puthuvypeen.
India has less than one per cent of the world’s known natural gas reserves. To augment supply of natural gas in the energy mix, he said the country must necessarily import it either by setting up LNG terminals or through trans-national pipelines.
“Import of natural gas and pricing the imported gas constitute challenges that we must meet successfully in the time to come,” he said.
Pipeline network To make full use of the significant investment in this project, the Prime Minister said it was imperative to focus on increasing the penetration of natural gas in Kerala by augmenting the pipeline network in a manner similar to what has been done in the northern and western parts of the country.
The Kochi terminal is intended to cater to the energy requirements of industries in a diverse range of areas across the whole of southern India. A whole new industrial corridor is expected to come up along the gas pipeline route, he added.
The LNG terminal in Kochi had commenced operations in September . However, a major concern is that only five per cent of the capacity is being utilised now by just two customers —BPCL-Kochi Refinery and the public sector FACT.
Expressing concern over the challenges and bottlenecks in the laying of pipelines by GAIL for gas supply, Union Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily requested both the Kerala and Tamil Nadu State Governments to make efforts to complete the Kochi-Bangalore pipeline project at the earliest .
Petronet LNG Ltd, he said, is making a net loss of Rs 300 crore annually due to the low capacity utilisation of the Kochi Terminal.
“I will be happy if pipelines are laid across Kerala and Tamil Nadu and the natural gas reaches Bangalore and Mangalore. This will be the day when the entire south India will benefit from the gas, thereby ushering a new era in the entire southern region,” he said.
Dispelling the fears of the public , the Minister said that GAIL had already laid 15,000 km across the country and another 16,000 km will be laid within the next three years.
Petroleum and Natural Gas Secretary Vivek Rae, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Petronet Managing Director A. K. Balyan also spoke.
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