BP Plc and Reliance Industries are likely to soon start joint import of LNG into India as they look to step up marketing of natural gas to meet the demands of the growing economy, a top official said on Monday.
India Gas Solutions Pvt. Ltd., the 50:50 joint venture of BP and RIL, has already started efforts to gauge the appetite of Indian consumers for imported liquefied natural gas (LNG), its newly appointed CEO Vinod Tahiliani said.
The exercise is in parallel to the firm’s effort to solicit interest in 12 million standard cubic meters per day of gas that RIL-BP plan to produce from R-Series fields in the KG-D6 block by 2020, Mr. Tahiliani said.
“We are marketing it (LNG) alongside R-Series gas,” he said. Asked when the venture would start LNG imports, he said, “you will hear soon.”
“India’s gas market is likely to double in the next five years,” he said, adding that the country now consumes 140 mmscmd of gas, half of it being imported LNG.
The market was growing and LNG would be needed to bridge the gap, he said.
