NEW DELHI: Natural gas demand has sharply risen and is now barely 5-7% lower than the pre-Covid levels, GAIL Chairman Manoj Jain has said.
GAIL’s gas sales had dropped by 30% in the early days of the lockdown as factories stopped operating and vehicles went off the roads. But the demand is fast returning.
Gas demand from key industrial sectors such as power and fertilizer has returned to pre-covid level while the demand for compressed natural gas, used in vehicles, has risen to about half the normal, Jain said. GAIL’s petrochemical plant at Pata is also operating at full capacity after staying shut for 2-3 weeks during the lockdown.
