India to see Rs 10,000 crore investment in LNG stations: Dharmendra Pradhan

New Delhi: India will see an investment of Rs 10,000 crore in the next three years in setting up of LNG stations, a fuel that promises to revolutionalise long-haul transport with reduced cost and lesser emissions, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Thursday. Liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is supercooled natural gas, is favoured by long-haul buses and trucks due to its higher energy density than CNG, its ability to give a 600-800 km run on a single fill, and it being 30-40 per cent cheaper than diesel.

So far, India uses petrol, diesel, CNG and auto-LPG as fuels to run automobiles. LNG is a new fuel that can be dispensed from outlets similar to petrol pumps, and is used not just in long long-haul buses and trucks but also in running mining equipment, as bunker fuel, and rail locomotives.