Indian state oil firms betting on natural gas as next big thing

Mumbai

INDIA'S state oil refiners are planning an aggressive push into natural gas in coming years to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi's goal of making the fuel a bigger part of the country's energy mix.

State-owned oil companies - Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum - are planning to raise gas contributions to between five and 15 per cent of their incomes over the next few years, up from nearly none now, company executives said.

This in line with a government target to raise the natural gas portion of India's primary energy mix to 15 per cent by 2030, up from 6.5 per cent now, to help meet climate targets and rein in rampant pollution. The increase would come mostly at the expense of coal, which is dirti…