India's Shale Gas Auction by end-2013

Mapping of India’s shale gas resources has been undertaken and authorities are working to put in place a regulatory regime for licensing rounds by the end of 2013, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Friday at the inaugural function of the 7th Asia Gas Partnership Summit 2012.

As India has one of the world’s largest coal reserves, the country wishes to work with international companies having the requisite experience and expertise for exploitation of coal seam gas, he added.

India will likely have a country-wide gas grid of about 30,000 km by the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan in 2017. Singh said that the country has launched an ambitious pipeline development programme with the Gas Authority of India likely to expand its pipeline length from the existing 9,000 Km to around 14,500 km by 2014.

Private operators are also expected to add another 5,000 km in the same period, he added.

He said that India has also accelerated investment in creation of LNG re-gasification facilities and with the new re-gasification LNG terminals coming up at Kochi and Dabhol, the country’s current import capacity of 14 million tonnes a year is set to increase to 20 million tonnes a year by 2012-13.

The prime minister also dedicated Gail’s 2,000 km long Dahej-Vijaipur-Bawana-Nangal/Bhatinda pipeline to the nation.

Singh concluded his address by saying that the government has initiated natural gas pricing reforms and will take into consideration all issues of concern to the gas industry and will try to find a win-win situation for the government and the industry.