India to have 10,000 CNG stations in next 5 years: Petroleum Minister

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Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said India will have ten thousand CNG stations in the next five years. 

Launching the commencement of work for 10th City Gas Distribution bidding round in New Delhi which will cover 50 Geographical Areas in 124 districts across the country, Mr Pradhan suggested auto companies to retrofit vehicles with CNG to boost sales. 

He said by 2050, India’s incremental energy needs will be primarily met by CNG. The Minister said, India will aim to lead Electronic Vehicle technology and won’t shift to lithium import dependence.

Mr. Pradhan said, with the 9th and 10th rounds, the country is making a giant leap in the City Gas Distribution. He said that in last 5 years, the number of domestic PNG connections, CNG vehicles and CNG stations have more than doubled. He said, India is the 3rd largest energy consumer of the world and will become top consumer in a decade. 

The Minister said that country will continue to harness multiple sources of energy, including fossil fuels, renewables, EVs and gas to provide reliable, affordable, sustainable and universal access to clean fuel to all. 

On the policy enablers to promote gas usage in India, Mr Pradhan said that City Gas Distribution has been granted public utility status. He said, the present share of gas in the energy mix in the country is 6.2 per cent compared to 24 per cent globally and the aim is to increase share of natural gas to 15 per cent by 2030. 

Mr Pradhan said that over 5 lakh crore rupees are being invested in gas infrastructure, which includes exploration, distribution, marketing, regasification, pipeline network laying, etc. He said, domestic gas production was 32.87 billion cubic metre in 2018-19 and is likely to go up to 39.3 billion cubic metre in 2020-21. 

The Minister said, present LNG terminal capacity of 38.8 MMTPA will be augmented to 52.5 MMTPA in next 3-4 years. He said, long term contracts have been signed for importing LNG and its sources are being diversified. He added that the gas grid presently is 16,788 kilometres and work is in progress for additional 14,788 kilometres.