Royal Dutch Shell Plc is set to become the top foreign firm in India’s booming gas import and marketing business, following its $70-billion global acquisition of Britain’s BG Group Plc.

 

One of BG’s key strengths is in the logistics of liquified natural gas or LNG, which is natural gas cooled to liquid state for transport in ocean carriers.

 

Shell, which has a 2.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) LNG terminal at Hazira in Gujarat, can tap into BG’s vast global network to source and sell LNG in India.

 

According to Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), a statistical body under the ministry of petroleum and natural gas, in the last 10 years, India’s production of natural gas rose by a meagre 14% from 21mtpa in 2004-05 (in terms of LNG equivalent) to 24 mtpa in 2013-14. MORE