Country’s first Gas Exchange to facilitate free market pricing of natural gas

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– globalbihari bureau

New Delhi: The Indian Gas Exchange (IGX), country’s first nationwide online delivery-based gas trading platform, was launched here on Monday. The trade on the platform also commenced from Monday.

With an eye on  a market driven pricing mechanism, the new electronic trading platform for natural gas is now expected to help facilitate free market pricing of natural gas. It is  a delivery-based trading platform for delivery of natural Gas.

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Launching the IGX in an e-ceremony, Union Minister of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Steel, Dharmendra Pradhan, said with this landmark, “India is joining the club of progressive economies”. He added that  IGX will enable market participants to trade in standardised gas contracts. “The platform is fully automated with web-based interface to provide seamless trading experience to the customers,” he informed.  He said that the country has long-term gas contracts with many countries like Qatar, Australia, Russia and the US, and has made investments abroad in strategic assets in Mozambique, Russia and other countries.

According to the minister, the new electronic trading platform for natural gas is the biggest indicator of the centre’s “progressive” policy as it completes the entire energy value chain from gas production from multiple sources and imports of LNG from different parts of globe to having a transparent price mechanism.

The minister also said that Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) is working on rationalization of tariff to make natural gas affordable in every part of the country. “The government has no business to be in business and the consumer is the king in a free market,” Pradhan added.  Through IGX, he said India’s vision on mega investments on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals, gas pipelines, CGD infrastructure and permission for market driven price mechanism will be materialized.

Referring to the various initiatives taken to make India a gas-based economy, the Minister said that Indian gas market has multiple price bands for assets including pre-NELP, NELP, High Temperature and High pressure (HTHP) and Deepwater and Ultra Deep Water blocks. He said that the country will soon have 50 MMT LNG terminal capacity. He also mentioned about various ongoing projects to strengthen the gas infrastructure in the country like Urja Ganga, Eastern India grid, Indradhanush project in the North-east, Dhamra-Dahej pipeline, coal gasification and CBM policy. He said that country will have more than 30,000 km of pipeline in next few years.

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