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.