India’s planned strategic gas reserve may come up as a joint venture of public sector companies or as a public-private partnership (PPP), two people familiar with the discussions said.
The reserve may be set up as a separate entity on the lines of the Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Ltd (ISPRL), which can store 5.33 million tonnes of crude oil at its underground facilities at Visakhapatnam, Mangaluru and Padur. Talks for a strategic gas reserve have gained momentum after the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year snapped supplies and drove up prices.
“It may be given to a public sector unit in the E&P (exploration and production) space to manage, which may form a joint venture. Public-private partnership is also being looked at," one of the two people cited above said on the condition of anonymity.
Exhausted oil wells may be used as reserves to store liquified natural gas (LNG), or entirely new LNG infrastructure may be constructed, the second person added. New infrastructure would include more LNG terminals and large underground salt caverns.
“Either we can create a new LNG facility for storing the gas or use exhausted gas wells, where production has been stopped. But the problem with those wells is that there is a loss of efficiency. Only about 60% of the gas-filled into the well is recovered at the most," the second person said.
Several countries have built gas storage systems to ensure supply security. The US accounts for nearly a third of global gas storage, while Russia, Ukraine, Canada and Germany together account for another major portion. China also has gas storage facilities.
