The center seeks to promote the production and adoption of compressed biogas amid a global slowdown in liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies.
The government will expand the ongoing biogas program and streamline all initiatives aimed at promoting biogas, which is a sustainable alternative to natural gas and, if expanded, can help reduce dependence on LNG imports, Neeraj Mittal, secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said at a conference titled Energy Security: Driving India’s Next Wave of Gas Demand organized by GaspraGRBtha Gas Ltd (IGL) in New Delhi.
“The Prime Minister has directed us to really improve the compressed biogas program. It’s a program that has been run by five ministries up until now for different subsidies, different parts of their supply chain. So we’re working very hard to come up with a single program.”
Considering that the purchase, production and blending of ethanol in the country has been streamlined, the minister said the government will develop a similar plan for compressed biogas, which can then be blended with natural gas in the city gas distribution network.
Biogas programs
In 2018, the Ministry of Petroleum launched the SATAT (Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation) program, which aims to create an ecosystem for the production of compressed biogas from various sources of waste and biomass and to promote its use alongside natural gas.
Another program, the National Biogas Program, was launched in 2021 by the Ministry of Renewable Energy with plans to set up biogas stations for clean fuel for cooking, lighting, heating and small energy needs.
The focus on compressed biogas comes as nearly 45% of its LNG imports from Qatar were cut due to attacks on the industrial city of Ras Laffan during the war between the US, Israel and Iran.
India imported about 27 million tonnes of LNG worth $14.9 billion in the last fiscal year (2024-25). Of India’s total LNG imports, about 40-45% come from Qatar and other key suppliers in West Asia, including the UAE and Oman. Other sources of LNG are the USA and Australia.
Although India produces about 55% of its natural gas needs, most of its domestic production is used for city gas distribution (CGD)—piped natural gas (PNG) for cooking and compressed natural gas (CNG) for transportation. So other consumer industries like fertilizers, steel and energy are mostly dependent on imported natural gas.
Meanwhile, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri is on a two-day visit to Qatar. “The Hon’ble Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Hardeep Singh Puri has arrived in Doha for a two-day visit. He was welcomed at the airport by the Ambassador of India to Qatar Mr. Vipul and officials of QatarEnergy,” the Indian Embassy in Qatar said on Twitter on Thursday evening.
