India plans to shift to a gas-based economy by boosting domestic production and buying cheap liquefied natural gas (LNG) as the world's third-biggest oil importer seeks to curb its greenhouse emissions, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said.
New Delhi has promised to shave a third of its emissions rate by 2030, partly by boosting the use of cleaner burning fuels.
"Gradually we are shifting towards a sustainable gas economy," Pradhan told Reuters in an interview.
Gas accounts for about 8 percent of India's energy mix, while oil accounts for more than a quarter.
India's gas supply deficit is expected to widen from 78 million cubic metres a day (mscmd) this fiscal year to 117 mscmd in 2021-22, according to a government estimate.
India recently negotiated better terms for a long-term LNG deal with Qatar and importer Petronet LNG is in talks with Exxon to renegotiate pricing for gas from Australia's Gorgon project.
http://www.thedailystar.net/business...nister-1220212