India’s emergence as the demand centre for energy in the world provides arbitrage opportunities around the globe for procuring natural gas said Pankaj Jain, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas while speaking at the Spotlight Session titled ‘India - a blueprint of energy transition for emerging economies’ at India Energy Week 2024 in Goa.

The secretary added that the opportunities to execute natural gas procurement deals much below the market rate exists and the government encourages such sellers to engage in negotiations.

As a cornerstone of energy transition, natural gas will continue to see wider adoption in India due to infrastructure upgradation in terms of terminal capacity and pipeline network, said Jain.

He added that diversification of fuel sources, both domestically and globally, was key to making the cleaner natural gas available to consumers.

Referring to sectors that can enhance the current level of natural gas usage in the country, the secretary said that scaling of gas-based mobility and expansion of piped gas connections to homes would also be demand drivers for natural gas.

Addressing the question of inviting global energy companies to operate in India, the secretary said that the entities in the energy ecosystem need to be assured that India is a different place to conduct business now.

He pointed out that removal of a million square kilometres of no-go zones for exploration and production was one such step in the direction.

Additionally, the secretary said that IEW 2024 provided an opportunity for exhibitors to showcase unique solutions to energy problems.

He pointed to various solutions being developed by start-ups as examples and mentioned the electrolyser displayed by BPCL as a success story for indigenous technology development.

Moreover, Jain elaborated that expediting and expanding adoption of biofuels was incumbent on scaling up production of the fuel at an affordable cost. He pointed out that recent progress in two key areas of biofuel production — feedstock collection and processing facilities — bodes well for the future.

“Some years ago it was unimaginable that municipal solid waste could be segregated. But it’s happening now,” Jain said.

He added that the government was working on mechanisation, infrastructure support and improving local networks to improve aggregation of feedstock.

The secretary also lauded the small and medium enterprises as the unsung heroes of biofuel production enhancement.