The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas is banking on supplies of gas for development of the eastern region of the country. “In eastern India, so far, no oil has been found despite explorations. But four types of gas are available in this part of the country,” Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said here on Saturday. This, he said, would help spur the economic development of the entire eastern region, where energy consumption per capita is lower than the rest of the country.
Pradhan said that the four types of gasses available in the eastern states are coal bed methane, natural gas, imported natural gas and coal-based gas. “But the issues involved are the cost of production, commercial exploitation and technology,” Pradhan said. The minister said the Government has also initiated talks with the Bangladesh government, seeking its cooperation in hydrocarbons by way of allowing transport of gas from landlocked Tripura using the neighbouring country as transit.