(FE)
Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said today that India has invested heavily in its gas distribution network. Speaking at the 22nd World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul he said, “[India is] heavily investing in gas network. India has 15,000 km of gas pipeline and in next 5 years another 15,000 km will be added.” According to ANI, Pradhan also mentioned briefly what Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s energy policy is about. Indicating that energy security is top on the agenda of the government he said, “Prime Minister has 4 point formula for energy – security, accessibility, affordability and sustainability.” The oil and gas event, which goes on from July 9 to 13, has about 600 speakers, 500 CEOs, 50 Ministers and 5000 participants, according to the event’s official website. Pradhan is set to meet petroleum ministers of other countries and hold bilateral meetings, IANS reported earlier.
A Ministry statement said that Pradhan would attend sessions on ‘Current Economic Strategies in Indian Oil and Gas Sector’ and ‘Supply and Demand Challenges for Oil, Gas and Products’. He was also to launch Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP) to promote India’s bidding rounds of oil and gas. The Union minister had earlier told PTI, “We are now expediting production of gas from domestic sources to the extent of 20 trillion cubic feet from already discovered sources through policy, fiscal and regulatory mechanism. These fields and the current auctions of Discovered Small Fields are going to add to the domestic supplies in the next 3-4 years.”
