(LiveMint)
In what will help expand India’s coal bed methane (CBM) sector, the cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday approved exploration and production from areas allotted to state-run Coal India Ltd (CIL)—the world’s largest coal miner—and its subsidiaries.
The decision will help India’s natural gas production and reduce the demand-supply gap in the country. It comes in the backdrop of India putting in place a new energy architecture, with CIL’s diversification drive focusing on setting up coal-to-methanol projects and coal gasification projects.
India has been pushing for a gas-based economy. As the world’s fourth-largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer, it has been trying to leverage the glut in global LNG supplies to renegotiate its contracts. India imported 19 million metric tonnes of LNG in 2016-17 to meet its domestic demand. In another decision, the cabinet gave its approval to a preliminary pact between India and the UK on the return of illegal migrants—seen as a major bone of contention between the two countries.
