Govt targets 1,000 LNG outlets in 5 years

Union minister of petroleum and natural gas Dharmendra Pradhan said on Thursday that the government aims to have 1,000 retail outlets of liquefied natural gas (LNG), entailing investment of Rs 10,000 crore, in the next three years as the country plans to increase the share of gas in its energy basket. Pradhan was speaking at an online event where he laid the foundation stone for 50 new LNG retail outlets along the golden quadrilateral and other major national highways.

Among the 50 retail outlets, most (20) will be set up by Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), followed by the 11 each by Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum (BPCL). The remaining will be built by Gujarat Gas and joint venture companies of GAIL and state-run oil marketing companies. The first trial of the fuel was started in 2015, and it is now ready to take off on the commercial scale, petroleum and natural gas secretary Tarun Kapoor said.

Pradhan said that LNG is going to be the fuel of the future for transport, and in this regard, retro-fitting of the vehicles as well as development by original equipment manufacturers is being undertaken. On a per-kilometre basis, taking into account engine efficiency and other factors, there is savings of 30-40% for LNG-fuelled transportation vehicles.

As the mileage is better, lesser retail outlets for LNG is required to cater to LNG trucks. One fill of LNG can take a loaded LNG truck to around 900 km, while a diesel truck needs a fuel refilling station after every 400-500 km.
As many as 1,000 LNG filling stations can cater to around 1.5 lakh trucks across the country. The minister said that the government will set up LNG stations at the distance of 200-300 km on the golden quadrilateral and all major roads, industrial hubs and mining areas.