More reforms await gas sector, trading hub in making: Pradhan

India plans to bring more reforms in natural gas sector and will build a gas trading hub to aid better price discovery for domestic as well as imported fuel, said Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Also, the country plans to double the network of pipelines transporting natural gas to 30,000 km in next 3-4 years as part of plans to shift to a gas-based economy to cut greenhouse emissions and reliance on imported oil.

"We are in the process of reforming the gas market in India where you can sell your gas through a gas trading hub," he said at an India Session at the 22nd World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul. Currently, natural gas in India is sold on the basis of a government-mandated formula that links the local price to rates prevailing in gas-surplus nations. In comparison, most long-term contracts for import of gas are linked or indexed to oil. The absence of market determined prices has been a big disincentive for companies to invest in gas exploration and production. Now, the government has begun discussions about building a trading platform, he said but did not give any target date for starting the hub.

New Delhi is committed to cutting a third of its emission by 2030, partly by boosting the use of cleaner burning fuels. "We are also completing a 30,000 km national gas grid in coming years. We can proudly claim that we have not only brought in policy reforms, but also implemented them," Pradhan said in his speech, a copy of which was released by his ministry here. The minister invited global companies to come and invest in Indian oil and gas sector, which has been thrown open with the Open Acreage Licensing policy allowing investors to choose from 2.8 million square km to explore.