Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel, Dharmendra Pradhan has called upon the various stakeholders in the liquified natural gas (LNG) sector to mount a campaign to make both the public and end-users aware of the benefits of the fuel.
Addressing the webinar, ‘LNG as a Transport Fuel’ on Friday, Pradhan said that LNG was a fuel of the future and its cost-benefit and other advantages over other fuels must be communicated in an aggressive and specific manner. He said that the lower cost of LNG would help attract the bulk and large consumers if the messaging was done properly.
Pradhan said that there was abundant availability of the LNG commodity and the Central Government was providing all facilities for its growth. He said that the opportunity of promoting LNG as the preferred fuel should be harnessed at the earliest. The environmental dividend, economic dividend and convenience aspect associated with LNG use need to be adequately highlighted.
The minister said that the government with its focus on moving the country towards a gas-based economy was making huge investments in gas infrastructure like terminals, pipelines, stations and city gas distribution (CGD) networks, and LNG was an integral part of this focus.
“We are focused on realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of transforming India into a gas-based economy and are extending every support required to aid this transition,” the minister stated.
The minister exhorted the industry to come out of the subsidy-based model and instead focus on LNG’s commercial viability by going in for scale of operation. On the issue of bringing LNG within the ambit of goods and services tax (GST), the minister said that it was a genuine demand with a consensus likely to be reached shortly.
He asked the industry to probe and identify sector-specific requirements of LNG for the expansion of its market in India. This would create a win-win situation for fleet owners, vehicle manufacturers and other stakeholders in the gas value chain as also ensure a better environment, he added.
The webinar was also addressed by the Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Tarun Kapoor. Kapoor said that the scenario world over regarding the use of LNG had undergone a massive shift as the fuel being under high pressure and low temperature could be transported over a long distance, thereby eliminating the need for laying pipelines.