The first everIndia-Russia webinar on the use of natural gas as motor fuel was organized under the aegis of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India and the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation.

In his inaugural speech, Shri TarunKapoor, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Government of India informed that the Memorandum of Understanding between Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, India and Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation for cooperation on the use of Natural Gas for Transportation was signed in presence of Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Mr. NarendraModi and Hon’ble President of Russian Federation Mr. Vladimir Putin. He further noted that the implementation of this MoU would assist in collective efforts to use natural gas as an environment friendly

motor fuel for mutual benefit. He looked forward to the exchange of insights from both sides for stimulating penetration of natural gas as motor fuel in both our countries.

H.E. Mr. Anton Inyutsyn, the Russian Deputy Minister, in his address expressed that he was positive that the exchange of information in this webinar would be beneficial for both countries and would lead to joint activities and mutual investments.

Mr. D B VenkateshVarma, Ambassador of India to the Russian Federation delivered the welcome address. He stressed on the importance of continuous collaboration between the two nations with historic felicity and friendship. He assured that the Indian Embassy in Russia would extend all possible support for making this partnership in the energy sector more robust.

The webinar included two Technical sessions on LNG as Transport Fuel and CNG as Transport Fuel, wherein perspectives from Indian and Russian sides were presented and saw the attendance of dignitaries, speakers and participants from both India & Russia.

Speakers from KPMG India and PWC India set the initial tone for the webinar by their presentations on CNG and LNG usage, policies and future prospects in the Indian markets. Besides, from Russia, there were presentations by Rostec, Kamaz Group and Natural Gas Vehicles Association speaking on the prospect of partnership for the CNG and LNG equipment manufacturing for the transport sector.

During the webinar, Indian speakers highlighted the growth potential of LNG and CNG as a transport fuel. It was mentioned that LNG is being promoted as a transport fuel because of its low carbon emission. India is likely to have 120,000 LNG vehicles by 2030. By then, road transport is forecast to account for 1.2-3 MMTPA LNG demand which is likely to go up to 4.5 MMTPA by 2035.

City Gas distribution network expansion is the Backbone for CNG growth. Now CGD coverage is being expanded to over 400 districts across 27 states and Union Territories. There is a huge market potential in the CNG sector in India with expected investment of USD 3-4 billion in CNG equipment, USD 50-60 billion through CNG vehicles and USD 1-1.5 billion via service market till 2030.

Russian speaker from Rostec, which is having a significant share of Russia’s industrial assets, spoke at length about the technological and equipment aspects of LNG production and the supply chain. Speaker from Kamaz gave a comprehensive overview of the various LNG vehicles designed by the Company and ready for use in Indian market. Speaker from Natural Gas Vehicles Association eloquently described the vast scope for Natural Gas in automobile industry, both in Russia and India and the need for corporation of both the counties in increasing the share of Natural gas as a motor fuel.

Subsequently, speakers from Indian companies, namely GAIL (India) Limited and Indian Oil Corporation Limited also made presentations about their experience in CNG and LNG as transport fuel in India.

The webinar is expected to act as a catalyst for coming up with practical measures for initiating projects on pilot basis in each other’s countries and eventually to scale up to the national levels and for mutual investments.

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YB