{
  "id": "R44765",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "R44765",
  "active": true,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 459061,
      "date": "2017-02-13",
      "retrieved": "2017-03-01T17:40:16.309910",
      "title": "India\u2019s Natural Gas: A Small Part of the Energy Mix",
      "summary": "India\u2019s population is expected to surpass China as the world\u2019s largest by 2022, reaching approximately 1.4 billion people, creating greater demand for energy. India has the potential to be a much larger producer and consumer of natural gas. Competing political and economic factors have limited the government\u2019s effectiveness in changing the country\u2019s energy mix, which is heavily weighted toward coal and oil. Continually beset by high-profile environmental issues such as major air pollution and contaminated water supplies due to their reliance on coal and oil, the Indian government is now setting policies to increase lower-carbon energy use, but whether the government can overcome the economic and political hurdles remains a question. The portion of natural gas in India\u2019s energy mix, 7%, remains small compared to that of the United States, though it is comparable to similar emerging economies like Brazil, China, and South Africa. Despite India\u2019s intentions to double the proportion of natural gas consumption by 2022, achieving this goal would require major upstream, midstream, and downstream investments as well as the continued political will to enact the necessary changes to decrease reliance on coal and oil. \nIndia\u2019s natural gas plans have implications for a number of issues in which Congress has expressed an interest. Those issues include the prospects for U.S. hydrocarbon exports, U.S. energy companies\u2019 investments, Indian investments in U.S. natural gas production, India\u2019s ability to meet its international commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to combat climate change, and India\u2019s plans for integrating itself into the growing South Asian energy market. In the mid-2000s, Members of both houses of Congress expressed interest to formalize closer energy ties between the United States and India, and legislation was introduced. The legislation was not enacted into law; however, the executive branch has implemented programs to further improve the energy partnership between the two nations. \nIndia\u2019s central government manages its energy sector mainly via four ministries: Power; Coal; Petroleum and Natural Gas; and New and Renewable Energy; along with the Department of Atomic Energy. Decades ago the Government of India created entities designated \u201cPublic Sector Undertakings (PSUs)\u201d to ensure complete control of the petroleum logistics chain. These PSUs have become some of India\u2019s largest companies. The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), and Indian Oil Corporation Limited are consistently ranked among the world\u2019s bigger energy companies. The PSUs are India\u2019s primary international and domestic energy actors, although some private sector companies have become key players as well. However, government control of the energy sector has stymied India\u2019s development of its domestic resources and hindered its efforts internationally. In the past decade, India has incentivized foreign access to its upstream sector as a way to increase domestic production. Some of India\u2019s energy companies are also investing more in U.S. energy projects and have signed contracts to import U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG). \nDue to limited drilling activity and available information, how much technically recoverable natural gas exists in India is unclear. However, India\u2019s current assessment of total reserves\u2014resources that are economically and technically viable under existing market conditions\u2014is estimated to represent less than 1% of the global natural gas total. As India attempts to shift away from coal and oil over the coming decades, natural gas production, especially from offshore resources, is seen as a way to increase domestic supply. Combined with improving infrastructure for imported LNG, India could become a bigger natural gas consumer in the future.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
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      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "IBCList",
          "id": 4780,
          "name": "Energy & Natural Resources Trade & Economics"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Energy Policy",
    "Foreign Affairs"
  ]
}