Sputnik: India Relying on Iranian Gas to Woo Neighbors

India is relying heavily on Iran’s LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) to lend a new aspect to its friendly relations with neighboring countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Indian Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan told Sputnik, “India is planning to expand its LPG network to neighboring countries also. We are in discussion with Bangladesh to set up an LPG terminal at Chittagong port and in collaboration with Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation; India can establish its market base in Bangladesh. Sri Lanka too expects LPG supplies from India for fulfilling the requirements of its people.”

There has been a recent understanding between Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, a government-run national oil company, and the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation to examine the possibility of jointly setting up a LPG import terminal on the coastal belt of Bangladesh's Chittagong district, marketing LPG in Bangladesh's domestic market as well as developing related infrastructure in Bangladesh.

According to Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, after calculating the total requirement of Indian consumers and the demand in neighboring countries, India's LPG requirement could rise to 30 million metric tons in the coming years. “After the lifting of economic sanctions, there is a big scope for us to imported LPG from Iran.” MORE