India to end central control of gas prices, lift LNG transport use

TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi/ India will gradually end central controls on gas pricing as it seeks to attract foreign investment and technology to lift local output, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said.

India, which is a large emitter of greenhouse gases and has multiple gas pricing regimes, aims to raise the share of gas in its energy mix to 15% by 2030, from 6.2%.

“This is an incentive we are giving to investors to come to India and take advantage of pricing and marketing freedom and produce more and invest more,” Pradhan said at the BNEF summit.

To boost gas usage, India is expanding infrastructure including building new liquefied natural gas (LNG) import plants and connecting households with an expanding gas pipe network. New Delhi said recently that no authorisation was needed to set up LNG dispensing facilities for vehicles.