World Pipelines - March 2020

ndia’s vision for a gas-based economy aims to increase

the existing share of natural gas from 6.2% to 15% by

2030. To meet this goal, India’s natural gas consumption

needs to rise from 166 million m

/d in 2018 - 2019, as per

Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell, to 600 million m

/d in

2030, as per McKinsey & Company estimates. This, according

to the 2019 Task Force Report, would account for an average

increase of 12.4% per annum during 2019 - 2030. The current

gas consumption comprises 53% of domestic production,

while the remainder comes from LNG imports.

The investment needed to create this gas infrastructure

is pegged at a considerable sum of US$60 billion by

2024, with an additional investment of US$58 billion

on hydrocarbon exploration and production by 2023 –

making it a herculean task for the government. However,

R.S. Sharma, former Chairman and Managing Director of Oil

and Natural Gas Corporation, stated that “this 15% target is

doable because gas is cheaper than its alternative by at least

40%. Hence, it will reduce the country’s oil import bill.”

Given India’s huge gas demand growth in the future and

its plan for creating a natural gas hub, an expansion of the

current gas pipeline grid across the country with robust

pipeline integrity is a prerequisite. Notably, additional gas

pipelines of 14 239 km are being laid to expand the existing

gas grid network of 16 981 km (Table 1).

While the pipeline integrity management system has

evolved alongside the expansion of a gas pipeline network,

its further extension across the country calls for robust

pipeline integrity, through greater support of advanced

technologies.

Destination:

a gas

economy

Manish Vaid, Observer Research

Foundation, and Suvendu Mohapatra,

Reliance Industries Ltd, India, detail

India’s vision for a gas-based

economy, and how a robust pipeline

integrity system is of vital importance.