Energy-starved India to become a net importer of natural gas as Reliance Industries demands price 'clarity'

The reserves RIL-BP has are more than the remaining resource in state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp's fields.

Majority of domestic natural gas is priced at USD 4.2 per million British thermal unit which is one-third the price at which LNG is imported by Petronet LNG Ltd and other firms.

The government has been resisting revising the domestic prices fearing its impact on power tariffs and fertiliser cost even as KG-D6 output plummeted to less than half to 24 mmscd.

Industry officials said world over countries have raised price for domestic produce.

Last week Argentina trippled wellhead price for new natural gas production to USD 7.50 per mmBtu. The South American nation too imported LNG at up to USD 15 per mmBtu rate, quite similar to the position in India.

Neighbouring Pakistan too has announced a new exploration policy giving price of USD 7 for shallow water finds, USD 8 for deepsea discoveries and USD 9 for ultradeep exploration.

China too has offered subsidises to energy companies who develop the nation's shale-gas resources, in an effort to jump-start the sector by lowering production costs.

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