India's 1st strategic natural gas reserve planned by ONGC
Business
ONGC is gearing up to build India's first-ever strategic natural gas reserve near the country's western gas fields.
This comes after earlier, more expensive storage ideas did not work out.
The goal? To boost energy security, since India currently imports more than half of its natural gas, costing about $15 billion a year.
ONGC testing storage in depleted wells
With global conflicts making energy imports risky (think recent West Asia tensions), ONGC's plan could help India rely less on other countries for gas.
They will start by testing storage in used-up gas wells, a cheaper and smarter option.
Natural gas is only 7% of India's energy mix now, but the aim is to double that by 2030, so having a backup is becoming even more important.