IEW 2025 INTERVIEW: India on track to achieve 2030 natural gas target, says GEECL MD

The Indian government's goal of raising natural gas' share in the country's primary energy mix to 15% by 2030, from the current 6%-7%, is achievable as infrastructure expands and gas reforms advance, Great Eastern Energy Corp. Ltd. Managing Director & CEO Prashant Modi said.

Many positive developments are anticipated this year, including the passage of the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Bill, 2024, and the inclusion of gas under the goods and services tax (GST) ambit, Modi told S&P Global Commodity Insights in an interview during India Energy Week 2025.

The Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Bill, 2024, which was passed in the Rajya Sabha in the last session, is expected to be passed in the Lower House of Parliament during the upcoming budget session.

With this bill, the government is placing greater emphasis on enhancing the ease of doing business, Modi said.

According to Modi, coal bed methane (CBM) has always operated on a revenue-sharing model, and now gas contracts follow the same structure, a move aimed at promoting exploration and production capabilities.

Currently, natural gas is not included under the GST ambit.

With the inclusion of GST, companies producing gas would face lower taxes, reducing operational costs. Customers will also be more willing to pay, as they will receive input credits, Modi said.

"So, there is a genuine push by the industry for this reform," he said.

Additionally, LNG capacities are being increased through the expansion of terminals, while pipeline infrastructure is also being strengthened, Modi said.

India has an operational regasification capacity of about 47.7 million mt/year, according to a December 2024 report by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board.

Historically, most gas-based industries have been in Western India, where gas is readily available, Modi said.

However, with the completion of the Jagdishpur-Haldia pipeline, gas will flow into Haldia, paving the way for increased gas flows into the eastern part of the country, he added.

Gas thrust to stay

According to data from Commodity Insights, India's LNG imports in 2024 totaled around 27 million mt, up over 20% year over year.

Some industry sources have forecast a potential decline in the country's LNG imports this year, citing expectations of limited global supply, strong European demand and elevated international prices. However, Modi said that imports are likely to grow as India advances its clean energy ambitions, supported by a robust economic outlook for the country.

India's natural gas import dependency has risen from 46.3% in the first half of the fiscal year 2023-24 (April-March) to 51.5% in H1 FY 2024-25, according to a company presentation.

"There are many gas plants that are lying idle ...Power will be a big consumer, and city gas distribution, or CGD, is coming up as well," Modi said.

Many industries are unable to utilize or scale up their gas needs due to a lack of availability or connectivity. However, once connectivity improves, demand will naturally follow, he added.

It is also crucial to ramp up domestic natural gas production to meet this growing demand, Modi said.

An International Energy Agency report released Feb. 12 projected India's natural gas demand to increase by nearly 60% by 2030, with the country's gas consumption expected to reach 103 Bcm annually by the end of the decade.

According to Modi, renewables will coexist with conventional forms of energy. He is also in favor of market-driven prices.

"There is a very wrong perception usually when it comes to prices," Modi said. "The issue is, once you control prices, you will not achieve any production. So, as companies are willing to take the risk on the resource, the market should decide the price."

Platts, part of Commodity Insights, assessed the LNG West India Marker for March at $16.325/MMBtu on Feb. 12, at a discount of 17.2 cents/MMBtu to the March JKM assessment.

GEECL's focus

GEECL is one of the first producers of CBM in India, extracting it from its Raniganj block in West Bengal, which spans 210 sq km and holds 10.62 Tcf of original gas-in-place, according to the company.

GEECL also holds a 100% interest in the Mannargudi block in Tamil Nadu.

"The Raniganj block will remain our focus. There is a lot of exploration to be done there because we have a big shale resource in the block," Modi said. "We must explore another 650 wells of CBM alone at Raniganj, and the target is to explore those within the next year or so, with the next phase of the campaign expected to start after the monsoon season."

When asked about collaboration opportunities, Modi said that GEECL was not seeking any joint venture partners and already had a capital expenditure plan in place.