By Ugur Serhan Ozcan & E. Gurkan Abay
ANKARA
India eyes liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from Russia, the U.S. and Australia to reduce its dependence on Qatar and sustain its energy security, an energy expert said.
As the world's tenth largest economy and with a gross domestic product (GPD) growth rate expected to reach 7 percent annually, India's energy demand is also expected to increase significantly.
"At present, India relies heavily on Qatar for its LNG imports, but a number of LNG import contracts have been signed which will diversify Indian LNG imports to include new supplies from Australia, the U.S. and Russia." Rajiv Biswas, Asia-Pacific Chief Economist of IHS Energy said.
"India has rapidly emerged in the last decade as one of the world's largest importers of LNG," Biswas said.
India was ranked as the world's fourth largest LNG importer in 2013, following Japan, South Korea and China while consuming almost 6 percent of the global market, according to data from IHS Energy.
"India's future demand growth for imported LNG will depend on a range of factors, including world oil and gas prices and Indian gas price reforms," he said, adding, "However with long-term annual GDP growth expected to be in the 7 to 8 percent range, LNG imports are expected to show significant increases over the next two decades."
"India's state-owned natural gas company, GAIL, has already concluded an LNG import contract with Gazprom to import Russian LNG. Both India and Russia have a strong interest in negotiating further gas contracts as India tries to ensure its future energy security and Russia tries to find Asian markets for its gas," Biswas added.
"Recent gas discoveries off the east coast of Africa may also provide India with a new future source of supply, with India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) having bought a stake in the planned Mozambique LNG project," he said.
India has 47 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves. Nearly 34 percent of the total reserves are located onshore, and 66 percent are offshore, according to India’s Ministry of Oil and Gas.
"The improving growth outlook reflects expectations that the new Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, government led by PM Modi will be successful in accelerating the pace of infrastructure development, notably in the power sector, which is a high priority for PM Modi's government," said Biswas.
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