Gas distributor Maharashtra Natural Gas Limited (MNGL) said it has entered into a technology collaboration with US-based Heath Consultants Incorporated to ensure low-emission operations of its natural gas utility infrastructure.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed under the US-India Low Emissions Gas Task Force (LEGT), would provide MNGL and Heath to jointly identify opportunities in the areas of emissions abatement, underground utility damage prevention, and waste heat recovery, MNGL said in a statement.
"Upon signing this MoU, we would work to convert such identified opportunities into specific implementable projects," MNGL managing director Kumar Shanker said in the company statement.
Houston-headquartered Heath Consultants Incorporated will also offer its technical solutions to support MNGL in gas line location services, underground utility damage prevention, waste heat recovery, and low-emission valves.
As per the agreement, Heath shall support MNGL in improving efficiency, environmental, and safety aspects of its operations through technical consulting, services, and product offerings to improve its environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria and further its capacity building in those areas.
The MoU was signed between Sanjay Sharma, Director (Commercial) MNGL, and Paul Wehnert, Executive Vice President, Health Consultants, in the presence of Indian Consul General in Houston D C Manjunath and facilitated by the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF).
"Heath is extremely excited to work with MNGL in technology transfer and associated field services with our India partner Josler Hydrocarbons to reduce methane emissions and increase public safety across the MNGL footprint in India," Wehnert said.
Speaking at the event, Manjunath said, "Energy cooperation between India and the US has deepened significantly in the recent years with Agenda 2030 Partnership.
"Clean energy, climate technologies, renewables, and hydrogen are among the new focus elements of this partnership, in addition to the traditional oil and gas sphere, particular emphasis is being given towards technology collaboration and this MoU is a welcome development in this regard," he added.
Nolty Theriot, USISPF Senior Vice President, Government Affairs and Policy, said, "Reducing methane emissions is key to supporting positive climate action, and the new collaboration between Heath and MNGL will showcase leading methane control technologies, measurement practices, and solutions to effectively reduce carbon emissions in India."
As part of energy collaboration between India and the US, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden announced a US-India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership.
That partnership was announced during the Leaders' Summit on Climate in April 2021 in order to accelerate progress toward shared climate and clean energy goals.
The Agenda 2030 Partnership includes two tracks of engagement -- Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP), and Climate Action and Finance Mobilization Dialogue.
Later, reflecting the emerging priorities under the 'Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP)', the US-India Gas Task Force was also re-named as the 'Low Emissions Gas Task Force'.
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