(BS)
Oil and Natural Gas Corp expects its natural gas production to reach a 5-year high in the current financial year following the start-up in coming weeks of a long-delayed project in the Arabian Sea, two senior company executives said.
State-owned ONGC, which accounts for about two-thirds of India’s total natural gas production, is likely to produce close to 25 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas in the financial year 2018, the executives told Reuters.The forecast compares with 23.5 bcm in the financial year to end March 2017, one of the executives said, representing expected growth of about six per cent. The two asked not to be named as the figures have not been released by the company.
Higher output from India’s top producer would help the country meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s target of reducing hydrocarbon imports by 10 per cent by 2022. India currently imports 70-75 per cent of its energy needs. While gas makes up only 8 per cent of the total energy consumed, almost 40 per cent of it is imported.
