India to be second largest driver of gas demand in Asia, pegs IEA

India’s annual gas consumption is expected to increase by 25 billion cubic metres (bcm) in the 2020-2024 period which translates into a 9% annual average growth rate, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its latest report. India has plans to increase the share of gas in its energy basket to 15% by 2030 from the current level of 6%, and IEA noted that “India is set to emerge as the second-largest driver of gas demand in Asia (after China) and the fifth-largest contributor globally (after China, Iran, Russia and the United States)”.

Indigenous natural gas production caters to about only 51% of the country’s requirements and domestic output increased 19.1% on year to 2,740 million standard cubic metre (mscm) in May.