The inaugural edition of the International Conference of Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulators was held under the aegis of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) between 5-8^th February 2024 during the India Energy Week(‘IEW”) 2024, Goa. The conference featured major South and Southeast Asian National Energy Regulatory Authorities from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Thailand, as well as international industry leaders. S&P Global Commodity Insights was the knowledge partner for the conference.

The conference’s overarching theme, “Navigating Pathways for Natural Gas Development”, emphasized upon natural gas’s role in driving faster and deeper emission reduction that is vital to meet climate goals of emerging and developing countries. The discussions at five plenary sessions delved into a spectrum of topics, ranging from geopolitical uncertainties impacting energy security, rapid infrastructure development, public-private partnerships and institutional growth. An exclusive roundtable of international regulators brought together the custodians of regulatory frameworks, providing a platform for sharing best practices, cross-border collaborative strategies to enhance energy security and ensuring effective governance.

Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Housing and Urban Affairs, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri while addressing the gathering reiterated Prime Minister’s vision to increase the share of natural gas from 6% to 15% in India’s energy mix. He appreciated PNGRB for this initiative and emphasised that going forward international regulatory conclave of oil and gas regulators be made as an integral feature of IEW. Dr. Anil Kumar Jain, Chairperson, PNGRB, stressed upon the importance of regional collaboration between South and Southeast Asian countries for knowledge sharing to formulate effective regulatory frameworks for natural gas development.

The esteemed group of speakers bought forward the need for natural gas to ”row in the energy mix and its role as a transition fuel to achieve net-zero emissions. They highlighted geopolitical uncertainties impacting energy supply to developing countries and the need for a united front from the global south to secure energy supply. The dialogue put spotlight on India’s natural gas regulatory and infrastructure development, especially for overall infrastructure development and city gas distribution sector to provide reliable and affordable clean energy. The industry leaders advocated for the need for a regional clean energy agenda between South and Southeast Asian nations via interconnected gas and electricity grids.

The International Conference of Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulators served as a nexus of expertise, offering an opportunity for various stakeholders to network, exchange knowledge and forge partnerships to shape the future of natural gas development.

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RKJ/M