Natural Gas

PNGRB expert panel calls for sweeping reform to unlock free gas market

A high-level expert committee set up by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has called for sweeping structural reforms to create a free, competitive natural gas market in India, arguing that market-driven pricing and open access are essential for the country's clean energy transition. In its report, Vision 2040 - Natural Gas Infrastructure in India, the panel led by former PNGRB chairperson D K Sarraf said a liberalised gas market would enhance transparency, spur investment, improve resource allocation and deepen liquidity. A competitive system, it said, would remove current market distortions and attract new players across exploration, pipelines, LNG terminals and city gas distribution. Natural gas, extracted from underground and offshore reservoirs, is used to generate power, produce fertiliser, turned into CNG to power vehicles, piped to household kitchens for cooking and serve as feedstock across several industries. Seen as a key transition fuel as India shift

PNGRB revises GAIL's integrated pipeline tariff to ₹65.69 per mmBtu

GAIL's integrated pipeline tariff has been revised to Rs 65.69 per mmBtu from January 2026 - well below its ask - prompting a sharp market reaction

US, West Asia LPG routes show wide cost differences for India: Crisil

The recent US-India LPG import pact marks a major shift in supplier diversification, reducing dependence on West Asian cargoes, though freight-linked cost sensitivities may affect OMC economics

Restore APM allocation for CNG sector, include gas under GST regime: Panel

To boost natural gas adoption, a PNGRB expert panel has recommended restoring APM gas allocation for CNG, including gas under GST, and recognising it as a cleaner fuel in the scrappage policy

Bombay HC notice on plea for CBI probe into RIL's $1.55 bn ONGC gas theft

The petition was filed by Jitendra P Maru, who requested the court to order the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take action against RIL and its directors

PNGRB plans draft regulations for hydrogen transport and blending

The idea is to ensure the country's gas pipeline network is ready for Hydrogen integration, so as to send a clear signal to the industry that this future fuel can be transported to the market

Oil India reports first natural gas occurrence in Andaman offshore block

Oil India has reported the first natural gas occurrence from its Andaman offshore blocks at exploratory well Vijayapuram-2, marking a step forward in India's hydrocarbon exploration

GAIL to supply natural gas to Tata Steel's Combi-Mill plant in Jamshedpur

GAIL (India) Ltd has entered into an agreement with Tata Steel for supply of natural gas to the steel major's Combi-Mill plant in Jamshedpur, a statement said. As per the agreement, GAIL will supply 31,000 standard cubic metres per day (SCMD) of natural gas until March 2026, with volumes scaling up to 43,000 SCMD thereafter, it said. Supply to Tata Steel's Combi-Mill plant under the City Gas Distribution project being implemented in East Singhbhum, will commence by the end of this September. This agreement represents the largest industrial customer onboarding since the inception of GAIL's City Gas Distribution GAs located in Varanasi, Patna, Ranchi, East Singhbhum, Cuttack and Kordha, the company said. To connect the Combi-Mill plant, GAIL has commissioned a 23-km pipeline route, it said. General Manager and GA in-charge of GAIL, Gauri Shankar Mishra, stated that the collaboration with Tata Steel demonstrates the company's dedication to providing cost-effective, environmentally ..

Committed to energy ties with India, says senior US Embassy official

US, India deepen energy ties with focus on critical minerals, nuclear reactors, oil, gas, and smart energy solutions to strengthen long-term energy security

Core sector growth falls to 2% in July against 6.3% in same month last year

Eight infrastructure sectors' growth slowed down to 2 per cent in July 2025 from 6.3 per cent in the same month last year, according to official data released on Wednesday. The core sector's output growth was 2.2 per cent in the previous month of June. The production growth was dragged by five key sectors of coal, crude oil, natural gas, and refinery products, which recorded a decline in output in July. In April-July of this fiscal year, the eight infrastructure sectors expanded by 1.6 per cent, compared to 6.3 per cent during the same period last year.

ONGC, BP to drill stratigraphic wells for India's energy security

State-owned ONGC has signed an agreement with global energy giant BP to collaborate on drilling multiple stratigraphic wells in India. This partnership will enhance geological understanding and unlock untapped hydrocarbon potential, strengthening India's long-term energy security, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) said in a post on X. "#ONGC has signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with @bp_plc on 17 July 2025, to collaborate on drilling stratigraphic wells in India's Category II & III offshore sedimentary basins: Andaman, Mahanadi, Saurashtra, and Bengal," the oil major said. The MoU was signed in the presence of Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri on the sidelines of Urja Varta 2025 event in the national capital. Pankaj Jain, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said this was one of the initiatives that "we have been talking about sometime ... called stratigraphic wells." This is the first of the series of such

Oil India, GAIL extend 15-year gas supply deal from Rajasthan fields

The supplied gas will be used by the state-run Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RRVUNL) for the production of power

ExxonMobil discovers new offshore natural gas reservoir near Cyprus

Drilling resulted in preliminary indications of 350 metres of a gas-bearing reservoir at a depth of 1.9 kilometres (1.2 miles) in the Pegasus-1 well, spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said

Louisiana becomes latest US state to redefine natural gas as green energy

Louisiana is the latest state to redefine natural gas as green energy under a new law the Republican governor signed this week, even though it's a fossil fuel that emits planet-warming greenhouse gases. Three other states led by Republicans Indiana, Ohio, and Tennessee have passed similar legislation. In some Democratic-led states, there have been efforts to phase out natural gas. New York and California cities like San Francisco and Berkeley have moved to ban natural gas hookups in new buildings, though some of these policies have been successfully challenged in court. President Donald Trump has signed a spate of executive orders promoting oil, gas and coal, which all warm the planet when burned to produce electricity. The European Union previously designated natural gas and nuclear as sustainable, a move that Greenpeace and the Austrian government are suing over. Louisiana Gov Jeff Landry, a major booster of the state's petrochemical industry, says the new law "sets the tone fo

India's natural gas consumption to more than double by 2040: PNGRB study

India's natural gas consumption is likely to rise by close to 60 per cent by 2030 and more than double by 2040, on the back of rise in usage of the fuel as CNG in automobiles and for cooking and industrial purposes, according to a study by oil regulator PNGRB. Consumption of natural gas, which is used to produce electricity, make fertilizer or turned into CNG for running automobiles and piped to household kitchens for cooking, is expected to rise from 187 million standard cubic metres per day in 2023-24 to 297 mmscmd by 2030 under 'Good-to-Go' scenario, the study by Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) said. 'Good-to-Go' scenario assumes moderate growth and developments based on current trends and commitments. Consumption of natural gas is projected to rise to 496 mmscmd by 2040 under the same scenario. Under the 'Good to Best' scenario that considers accelerated progress, favourable policy implementation, and enhanced investments leading to higher-than expected growt

Govt cuts natural gas price for CNG, cooking use for first time in 2 yrs

For the first time in two years, the government has reduced the price of natural gas used for producing CNG for vehicles and cooking gas, reflecting a decline in benchmark rates. The price of natural gas from legacy fields allocated to state-owned ONGC without auction has been reduced from USD 6.75 to USD 6.41 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), according to a notification from the Oil Ministry's Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC). The reduction, which is the first since the government in April 2023 implemented a new formula to price such gas, will aid city gas retailers like Indraprastha Gas Ltd, Mahanagar Gas Ltd and Adani-Total Gas Ltd who had been reeling under cost pressures from rise in input cost. In April 2023, the Union Cabinet accepted an expert committee report to price on a monthly basis the gas from legacy fields, called APM gas, at 10 per cent of monthly average import price of crude oil with a floor of USD 4 and a cap of USD 6.5 per mmBtu. The cap pric

New gas project off Senegal sparks fears among local fishing communities

It's impossible to miss the gas platform off the coast of northern Senegal. Its flare stack burns day and night above the rolling breakers. The natural gas project, a joint venture between British energy giant BP and US-based Kosmos Energy, started operations on the final day of 2024. It is meant to bring jobs to the densely populated fishing community of Guet Ndar, just outside the old colonial capital of Saint Louis. The gas extraction plant, the deepest in Africa, is aimed at helping to transform Senegal's stagnant economy after the discovery just over a decade ago of oil and gas off the country's coast. The first offshore oil project also began last year. Fishermen say the project is killing their livelihoods Mariam Sow, one of the few remaining sellers in the once-thriving fish market, said the decline began in 2020 when the platform started rising from the sea. This market used to be full every day, Sow said, gesturing at the barren lot. The nearby beach is now occupied by .

'PNG rollout to 111 Delhi villages key correction in clean energy drive'

Expanding Piped Natural Gas (PNG) connections to 111 villages in Delhi's periphery is a significant step towards addressing the needs of communities left behind in India's clean cooking fuel transition, said Kalpana Balakrishnan, Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health in India. "These villages represent pockets that could not transition earlier despite economic opportunities nearby. If it were possible, they would have transitioned by now. These are households with the least socio-economic privileges, making this a crucial equity-favouring initiative, Balakrishnan told PTI, referring to the Delhi government's latest push to extend PNG supply to the rural areas. The initiative by the Delhi government in partnership with Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) and other city gas distribution companies aims to replace traditional biomass and LPG use with cleaner, safer, and more affordable piped gas connections. It is part of a phased plan to connect .

Govt to hold pre-emption right over oil, gas in emergency: Draft rules

The government will hold pre-emption rights over all oil and natural gas produced in the country in any event of national emergency, according to draft rules being framed under a revamped oilfields legislation. A pre-emption right (or preemptive right) is the legal right of a party - often a government or existing shareholder - to purchase or claim a product, asset, or resource before it is offered to others. The inclusion of such rights over crude oil - extracted from underground or beneath the seabed and refined into fuels like petrol and diesel - as well as natural gas, which is used for power generation, fertilizer production, CNG for vehicles, and piped cooking gas, is intended to help the government prioritize national interests and ensure public welfare during emergencies. The producer of oil and natural gas will be paid a "fair market price prevailing at the time of pre-emption", the draft rules said. Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has invited comments on draft rules

Shell-Reliance-ONGC JV completes India's 1st offshore decommissioning

A joint venture of Shell, Reliance Industries Ltd and ONGC has successfully completed India's first offshore facilities decommissioning project with the safe removal of installations on the mid and south Tapti gas field in the Arabian Sea, the firms said on Monday. Once a field stops producing oil and gas, the facilities that were erected to bring out hydrocarbons from below ground or under seabed, have to be safely removed - a process called decommissioning. The Tapti field, lying 160 km north-west of Mumbai, stopped producing in 2016. Certain facilities at the mid and south Tapti fields, known as the Tapti Part A Facilities were handed over to state-owned ONGC while the remaining facilities, which included 38 wells, 5 wellhead platforms and four pipelines, known as Tapti Part B Facilities were abandoned by the joint venture. In 2017, the joint venture started preparing to decommission the Tapti field, where Shell owned 30 per cent interest, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) .