BP plc has suggested the government to enable a ‘level playing field’ between domestic and imported gas to encourage investments in the upstream hydrocarbon sector.

Addressing a press conference at the India Energy Forum by CERAWeek, Deputy Chief Executive at BP Lamar McKay said, “There have been very positive steps in policy and regulation by the government and they have been very supportive in terms of their objectives of developing domestic supply. There are policy things under consideration, for example, the inclusion of natural gas under the Goods and Services Tax regime.”

“In effect a level playing field between domestic gas and imported gas is something we believe in. An exchange or a way to trade gas and develop some price transparency and price signals go to consumers. Those are the kind of things that we certainly think are positive for a gas market that’s evolving and growing like India,” he added.

In June, BP and Reliance Industries Ltd announced that they will award contracts to progress development of the ‘R-Series’ deep water gas fields in KG-D6 block, off the east coast.

An official statement had said that the two intend to invest ₹40,000 crore phased over 2020-2022.

The nearly $6 billion investment is expected to harness 30-35 million cubic metres or 1 billion cubic feet of gas a day.

Infra for e-vehicle

Commenting on the possibility to set up electric vehicle charging infrastructure in India, McKay said, “We are interested in vehicle charging and fast charging as an enabler for faster penetration of electric vehicles. We are interested in how to leverage a physical footprint with a digital infrastructure.”

“It is not just India we are working on this around the world,” he added.

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