Natural gas prices, access is a concern, India working on firming supplies: Puri

Hardeep Singh Puri

Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said access and high price of natural gas is a concern and we need to work on securing supplies.

When asked if the government is looking at signing more long-term gas supply pacts, Puri said, “Yes, prices are high. There are issues of access. We need to work on supplies. But do you need to sign really long-term agreements? Or are you better off watching how the prices move going ahead?”

“Or maybe, as you should, I think, have a long-term agreement linked to the price of oil. You can have a long-term agreement and you can have a safeguard there,” he said.

The oil minister in an exclusive interview to Moneycontrol, on the sidelines of India Energy Week 2023, said that India is looking at the situation carefully and has made arrangements for natural gas with countries.

“I think we already have arrangements with Qatar, the US, etc. We’re looking at all these things very carefully. So far, we’ve got our decisions right,” the minister said.

Due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the global energy market was disrupted in 2022. While crude oil prices have come down to around $80 per barrel from 14-year highs of $140 bpd in March 2022, natural gas prices continue to remain elevated.

Energy experts told Moneycontrol that natural gas prices are expected to remain elevated in the medium term, but not shoot up like in 2022 amid mild winter in Europe and muted demand in China.

Natural gas prices have come down relatively in recent months on account of lower demand in Europe due to warmer-than-usual temperatures in winters and weak demand in China, one of the largest consumers of gas in the world, amid strict Covid-19 lockdown.