India is set to see investments to the tune of around Rs 10,000 crore in three years to create infrastructure for using liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a fuel for long-haul transportation. This will also include the setting up of 1,000 LNG stations as well.
As a first step towards this, on 18 November 2020, 50 LNG stations were launched. This includes 20 LNG stations by the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), 11 each by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), six by GAIL (India) and two by Petronet LNG.
The states in which maximum outlets are going to come up in the first leg include Gujarat (ten), Andhra Pradesh, (six), Karnataka (five), Kerala (three), Tamil Nadu (eight) and Rajasthan (three).
In the next one year, around 150 such fuel stations are expected to come up in the golden quadrilateral, where the strategy is to have an LNG station after every 200 km.
The government expects at least 20-25 mmscmd equivalent LNG to come in the transportation sector in India in near future.
LNG has the potential to take a share of at least 10 percent of the total 10 milllion trucks in India. In the mining sector too, the government is targeting the conversion of heavy vehicles and equipment to LNG.
