The Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Dharmendra Pradhan launched the Indian Gas Exchange (IGX), first nationwide online delivery-based gas trading platform.  

 

IGX will be a delivery-based trading platform for delivery of natural gas. Incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of the IEX - India’s energy market platform, IGX will enable market participants to trade in standardised gas contracts. The platform is fully automated with a web-based interface to provide a seamless trading experience to the customers.

 

Speaking on the occasion, Pradhan said that the launch of the new electronic trading platform for natural gas today has opened a new chapter in the energy history of India and helped the nation move towards free market pricing of natural gas. 

 

The minister also said that Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) is working on rationalization of tariffs to make natural gas affordable in every part of the country. 

 

He also said that through IGX, India's vision on mega investments on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals, gas pipelines, CGD infrastructure and permission for market driven price mechanism will be materialized.

 

The minister said that Indian gas market has multiple price bands for assets including pre-NELP, NELP, High Temperature and High Pressure (HTHP) and Deepwater and Ultra Deep Water blocks. 

 

He said that the country will soon have 50 MMT LNG terminal capacity. He said that the country has long-term gas contracts with many countries like Qatar, Australia, Russia and the US, and has made investments abroad in strategic assets in Mozamibque, Russia and other countries. 

 

He also mentioned various ongoing projects to strengthen the gas infrastructure in the country like Urja Ganga, Eastern India grid, Indradhanush project in the North-East, Dhamra-Dahej pipeline, coal gasification and CBM policy. He said that the country will have more than 30,000 km of pipeline in the next few years.