Page 140 - CW E-Magazine (13-5-2025)

Hydrocarbons Hydrocarbons

GROWING DEMAND RISING PRODUCTION

India’s diesel consumption hits record high in April Over 20 new gas projects reached FID stage in 2024:

India’s auto fuel consumption during petroleum products. Before this, diesel ATF consumption up Report
April 2025 hit a high backed by in- consumption rose to an all-time high The consumption of aviation tur-
creased farming, industrial, mining and record of 8.412-mt in May 2024 on bine fuel (ATF) rose by more than 3 Gas development projects in India with fi elds, leading to a noticeable increase in This was mainly driven by a reduced
commercial activity with diesel usage account of higher demand due to the percent to 766,000 tonnes in April. a total anticipated production of 3.5-billion output, alongside the commissioning of number of new gas discoveries in India.
inching up to its second highest mark Lok Sabha elections. Before this, India However, it fell by over 4 percent on cubic metres (bcm) per year over the medium new gas fi eld development projects, parti- Additionally, India is in possession of a
on record. has clocked a consumption of 8.217-mt a monthly basis as usage during March term reached fi nal investment decision cularly offshore, the report pointed out. considerable volume of technically re-
in May 2023. 2025 is an all-time high. A tad short of (FID) during 2024, according to a report coverable shale gas resources, estimated
According to the data released by the 9-million tonnes (mt) mark, India’s by the Gas Exporting Countries Forum The majority of India’s gas output at 2.15-tcm. These volumes are still un-
the Petroleum Planning & Analysis India’s consumption of petrol, jet fuel consumption scaled multiple (GECF). The Forum, based out of Qatar, came from conventional gas fi elds, tapped and need extensive development
Cell (PPAC), India’s diesel consump- largely consumed in the personal vehi- peaks during FY25, with airlines guz- currently consists of 20 world’s leading accounting for 93 percent of the total, studies for their exploitation.
tion rose to 8.239-million tonnes (mt) cle segment, rose by around 5 percent zling over 800,000 tonnes in the last natural gas producing and exporting while 4 percent came from coal bed
in April, which is the second highest on y-o-y to 3.435-mt in April 2025. How- month of the fi scal year alone - also an countries, spread across four continents. methane (CBM) development, primarily Adopting LNG
record. ever, petroleum usage fell by more than all-time high. in the West Bengal fi eld, and 3 percent The report noted that India stands out
2 percent on a monthly basis. During the last calendar year, India, from tight gas fi elds, it said. among other countries in its approach to
The consumption of the fuel con- The PPAC expects India’s jet fuel to which ranks as the world’s fourth largest adopting LNG for the transport sector.
sidered the mainstay of India’s trans- Barring March, petrol usage during grow at almost 11 percent annually in liquefi ed natural gas (LNG) importer, “Offshore production made up 71 “Although the country currently has fewer
port and logistics sector was higher by April this year is at an 11-month high. FY26 – the highest among all refi ned also brought online more than a dozen percent of the total gas output; however, than 1,000 LNG-powered trucks, the
2 percent m-o-m and almost 4 percent Petrol usage of 3.512-mt during March petroleum products – refl ecting on the small gas fi elds with an initial combined its share has decreased over the past government aims to have one-third of the
y-o-y. Diesel also accounts for over 40 is the highest on record followed by rising spending power in the world’s production of around 1.8-bcm. “Twen- decade, down from 77 percent in 2014. truck fl eet running on LNG within the
percent of the country’s usage of refi ned May 2024 (3.463-mt). fastest growing emerging economy. ty-one new gas development projects Additionally, associated gas production next fi ve to seven years,” it added.
in India reached the FID stage, with an represented nearly 30 percent of the over-
CLEANER TRANSPORTATION
anticipated combined plateau production all output, a percentage that has remained India’s high dependence on oil im-
GAIL and CONCOR to explore adoption of LNG of 3.5-bcm per year over the medium- stable over the last decade,” it added. ports, which surpasses that of China, adds
term,” GECF’s annual gas market report further impetus to this transition, it added.
as alternative fuel for 2025 said. FID is the fi nal stage in a India’s reported proven gas reserves To support this goal, the government is
project where it is determined whether witnessed a decline over the last fi ve focused on expanding LNG refuelling
Government owned companies – harness LNG’s advantages as a cleaner Mr. Sanjay Swaroop, CMD, CONCOR, to proceed with it or close the project years, to stand at 1.14-trillion cubic infrastructure, which remains limited, and
GAIL (India) Ltd. and CONCOR (Con- and more cost-effective alternative said that the MoU is yet another step down. metres (tcm), with the majority being is allocating domestic gas – cheaper than
tainer Corporation of India Ltd.) – have to diesel, which could result in reduced towards CONCOR’s commitment to conventional proven gas reserves. imported LNG – for LNG-powered trucks.
signed a Memorandum of Understanding emissions and lower operational costs. provide sustainable logistics solutions The report pointed out that a total of
(MoU) to explore the adoption of Lique- to customers for which the company 13 relatively small new gas fi elds came Sri Lanka to begin talks with India,
fi ed Natural Gas (LNG) as an alternative Mr. Sanjay Kumar, Director (Market- has already established LNG station at on stream in 2024, with an initial com-
fuel for the logistics sector. ing), GAIL, emphasised that GAIL holds MMLP Khatuwas (Rajasthan), and pro- bined production reaching 1.8-bcm and UAE for new energy hub
the largest LNG portfolio in the country, cured a large fl eet of 130 LNG trailers, expected plateau production of 3-bcm
The MoU aims to assess the feasibi- with contracts spanning multiple geogra- which is resulting in reduction in carbon annually. All of the newly commis- Sri Lanka will start work next month well as bunkering facilities and poten-
lity of using LNG as fuel for CONCOR’s phies worldwide; positioning it as a footprint in CONCOR’s day-to-day sioned fi elds are conventional gas fi elds. on plans to develop an energy hub with tially a refi nery. It will also include deve-
logistics fl eet. This collaboration seeks to reliable LNG supplier. operations. India and the United Arab Emirates lopment of a World War II-era storage
“In the short-term, India is anticipa- (UAE), the country’s energy minister tank farm partly owned by the Sri Lankan
HPCL, ADNOC Trading ink their fi rst LNG trading ted to increase production, driven by the said, as the nation looks to leverage its subsidiary of Indian Oil Corporation
offshore sector,” the GECF report said. strategic location to cement a recovery (IOC).
supply agreement from a fi nancial crisis. The trio signed
Higher production a deal to create the hub during a visit in Representatives from state-run Ceylon
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation The LNG will be received at recently downstream customers. Presently, Chhara India’s annual gas production expe- April by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Petroleum, IOC and AD Ports will
Ltd. (HPCL), said that it has signed an commissioned Chhara LNG terminal LNG terminal has regasifi cation capacity rienced a 3.5 percent increase, reaching meet in Sri Lanka in late May to start
LNG trading supply agreement with of HPCL LNG, a wholly-owned subsi- of 5-million tonnes per annum (mtpa) with 33.8-bcm in 2024. This growth was pri- The hub in the eastern harbour city discussions on a detailed business plan
ADNOC Trading, a leading trader of diary of HPCL, to meet captive demand gross storage capacity of LNG 400,000 marily driven by a government initiative of Trincomalee will involve the con- for the hub, said Energy Ministry Secre-
crude oil, LNG and other products. of HPCL and also for marketing to other cu. m. in two equal sized LNG tanks. to rejuvenate production from mature gas struction of a multi-product pipeline as tary Mr. Udayanga Hemapala.

140 Chemical Weekly May 13, 2025 Chemical Weekly May 13, 2025 141

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