I read an interesting article in the Economic Times ( Jun 25, 2010), written by R.S.Pandey, former petroleum secretary, about the potential for energy savings and reducing our import bill through the use of natural gas.
It was a very interesting read, and the following were stuff that made me sit up:
“Gas users pay less. In Delhi, the per km of running a car with gas is Rs 1.31 as against 2.54 for diesel and 3.2 for petrol. If all three fuels were sold at market prices (the gap will be even higher, in favour of gas). This is because gas is cheaper than oil. One barrel of crude produces the same energy as 6 mmbtu of gas. Therefore, at crude price of $80 per barrel, gas should be priced at approximately $13 per mmbtu. Happily, most of the gas is being sold in India at $4.2 per mmbtu, and the imported gas is available at about $5 per mmbtu. So, there is a clear disconnect between the price of crude oil and gas.”
Indeed, there is. And with this century being already hailed as the century of gas (as the last was the century of oil) what with significant amounts of gas being found in many places worldwide (thankfully, including India), all energy industry professionals better dust up their knowledge about two words – NATURAL GAS.