Packing batteries with more punch
Indian researchers are working on cells that can store more energy, last longer
BL19_GAS.eps
With output from Reliance Industries Ltd-operated KG-D6 gas fields plunging, the country's dependence on imported gas has increased. This is compelling companies to look for long- and short-term contracts with global suppliers.
An indication of increased dependence on imported gas is a substantial rise in liquefied natural gas (LNG) sourcing by companies such as GAIL (India), Reliance Industries and GSPC.
This also meant that days of cheap natural gas were over.
The imported gas is available at $8.5/mBtu and $14/mBtu (excluding other levies and taxes); D6 gas is available at $4.2/mBtu (excluding the levies and taxes) in the domestic market.
To meet the demand, GAIL could end up importing on average 12-16 cargoes of spot/mid-term LNG in 2011-12, up from about three cargoes a year earlier. Each LNG cargo is about 80 million standard cubic metre (mmscm).
Reliance Industries is expected to import 24 cargoes during the current fiscal, industry sources said.
Apart from its long-term contract, Petronet LNG is expected to get about 28-29 cargoes and GSPC about 13.
“With domestic demand far exceeding the indigenous supply and very few new local sources available, additional demand will have to be catered through imported gas,” a senior industry official said.
Towards the end of last fiscal, the output from the country's largest gas fields (KG-D6 gas fields), has been seeing a continued drop after hitting the peak of 60 mmscmd in end-2009.
Currently, output from the fields was between 39-40 mmscmd.
Those tracking the sector said that around 220 million tonnes a year of LNG is currently produced in about 19 countries.
Qatar is the largest exporter with capacity of around 77 million tonnes a year. The others include Malaysia, Indonesia, and Australia.
Out of the total LNG produced globally, around 60 per cent is consumed in the Asia Pacific by five major importing countries – Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, and India.
The balance 40 per cent is consumed by other 18 countries such as Spain, the US, France, UK, Belgium, and Italy.
Indian researchers are working on cells that can store more energy, last longer
To fix a broken bone, doctors often harvest another bone from the patient’s body or from someone else. It ...
Superconductors from IIScScientists at IISc Bangalore have invented a device with a nanocrystal structure ...
Engineering and construction giant L&T has won a licence from the Council of Scientific & Industrial ...
Will a stock continue its current trend or will it reverse? We tell you how you can read chart patterns to ...
Sensex and Nifty 50 saw selling interest on Friday and slumped; selling pressure could continue
Investors with a long-term horizon can consider this offer
Most AMCs have been sending out cryptic e-mails. We tell you how to read between the lines
In these isolated times when people yearn for a slice of the familiar, amateur and professional chefs are ...
With strokes of quirky humour, Partha Pratim Deb uses pulp, terracotta, glass and discarded cloth to create ...
Given the events in Washington DC on January 6, this week’s quiz is all about buildings that house or housed ...
While good writing wars against the cliché, television gives it a natural home
Digital is becoming dominant media, but are companies and their ad agencies transforming fast enough to make a ...
Slow Network, promoted by journalist-lyricist Neelesh Misra, pushes rural products and experiences
How marketers can use the traditional exchange of festive wishes meaningfully
For Fortune, a brand celebrating its 20th anniversary, it was a rude shock to become the butt of social media ...
Three years after its inception, compliance with GST procedures remains a headache for exporters, job workers ...
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives of companies are altering the prospects for wooden toys of ...
Aequs Aerospace to create space for large-scale manufacture of toys at Koppal
And it has every reason to smile. Covid-19 has triggered a consumer shift towards branded products as ...
Please Email the Editor