Natural gas is regarded as the clean fuel of 21st century and is emerging as a major fuel alternative all over the world. In India at present natural gas is an insignificant component in overall energy mix with a meager share of 7%. According to a CRISIL report, OECD countries gas use for residential heating and cooking on average amounts to nearly 25% of the total consumption. Even in Pakistan, India's immediate neighbor, this figure is as high as 25%. By contrast in India city gas contributes a meager 3% of total. Gas consumption while primarily being used in power & fertilizer sectors that together consume nearly 75% of all production.
However, natural gas consumption is set to have annual growth rate of 5.9% in India during the next 25 years driven by robust GDP growth coupled with rising per capita income and infrastructure development.
Globally in developed countries, natural gas finds usage in space heating, air conditioning and in combined heat and power applications. Combined Heat and Power applications have superior efficiency levels than the traditional gas fired open/combined cycle applications. As income levels rise and lifestyle needs change, there is a demand for fuels which can offer uninterrupted power with low levels of Green House Gas emissions at a lesser cost.
The growing level of urbanization is likely to increase the energy consumption intensity in India. The urban clusters would include offices, commercial establishments, housing complexes and ITES services. These consumers require convenience of usage, incessant energy supplies for various applications in air-conditioning and heating. Currently the city gas distribution networks in India largely cater to the needs of the transportation sector and for heating applications in households, commercial and industrial establishments. However in the future stimulated by increased availability, natural gas would find applications in the emerging market segments of air conditioning, heating and decentralized generation and distribution of power.
A new paradigm
Technological developments are creating new product platforms altering the delivery channels across industries. The last mile is often the most rigid to achieve in the supply chain of most industries, more so for the traditional energy industry. Over the next few years, India will accelerate its move to being a gas-based economy, propelled with the discovery and development of giant offshore gas fields, and the expansion of LNG terminals on the west coast of India.
Natural gas, recognized as the fuel for the 21st century, is already powering gas-fired turbines for power generation and feedstock for the fertilizer industry. Its impact in the National Capital Region as a fuel for public transportation is now successfully completed while more projects are under implementation in more than half-a-dozen states, including Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.
The industry players have aggressive plans to increase coverage to over 200 cities, up from the current level of 20 odd cities. Homes on the gas grid could also use new fuel-cell technology to generate their own gas-based electricity in the same way that they currently use diesel-powered gensets.
Why natural gas
The stage is now being set for natural gas to replace LPG as a fuel for households and for the development of CNG as a preferred fuel over petrol and diesel for city transportation requirements. Over the next five years, it is estimated that City Gas Distribution (CGD) networks could require investment of close to $50 billion (Rs 2 trillion). The ingredients needed for this make-over are slowly falling in place. Savings may be about a third, compared to what LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) costs, it is estimated.
The predominance of Natural Gas as an energy for city energy purposes internationally is primarily due to three reasons. Comparing Natural Gas with fuels against which it will be competing in various customer segments within cities namely FO/LSHS FO/LSHS for industrial segment, Petrol/Diesel for transport and LPG for commercial and domestic segments, this can be clearly inferred. In the transport segment (Refer Table 1) the fuels are compared based on running cost; CNG is almost three times as economical as the traditional fuels.
For the industrial, commercial and domestic segments the fuels are compared on the basis of total expenditure incurred to create one million Kilocalories of energy. For industrial customers Natural Gas offers a 20% cost benefit in energy terms while for the domestic segment Piped Natural Gas (PNG) presents a savings opportunity of almost 17% on the monthly bill.
According to an industry report in USA, about 52 percent of all households depend on natural gas as their primary heating fuel while only 7 percent of U.S. households depend on heating oil for winter fuel while a third of Britain's electricity is generated by gas-fired power stations. Thus power generation from natural gas need encouragement and a huge potential does exists for power generation from gas.
The Dhirubhai gas field on the eastern coast was one of the largest discoveries contributing significantly towards augmenting the energy security of the country. The discovery also will help in bridging the gap between demand and availability of gas, which was otherwise to be met through importation of gas through pipelines from Iran, Bangladesh and Myanmar – countries perennially affected by geopolitical issues.
The migration of the households and the transportation sector from refined products to natural gas is an important transition—the supply chain is asset intensive. It is time for the regulatory and fiscal framework to promote the much needed investment and provide a progressive and stable financial regime - a few simple initiatives from Government would be most valued at this stage of evolution of the industry.
Drivers of natural gas
Economics: On an energy-equivalent basis, natural gas costs considerably lower than the LPG, Gasoline and Diesel. Natural gas is a clean-burning fuel that reduces vehicle maintenance with added advantage is that it can not be adulterated or siphoned-off from a vehicle.
Emissions: Emissions from CNG vehicles is lower than those from petrol or diesel vehicles. For instance, CNG emissions of carbon monoxide are approximately 70% lower, non-methane organic gas emissions are 89% lower, and oxides of nitrogen emissions are 87% lower. In addition, CNG also emits considerably lower amounts of greenhouse gases and toxins then petrol vehicles.
Safety: Vehicles that run on clean burning natural gas are as safe as vehicles operating on traditional fuels. Being lighter than air, CNG, unlike gasoline, dissipates into the atmosphere in the event of an accident. CNG fuel systems are “sealed,” which prevents any spills or evaporative losses. Further, natural gas is not toxic or corrosive and does not pollute ground water.
Trigger fuel for switching by consumers
Conclusion
The rapid growth of economies and impact of increasing oil princes, especially for countries such as India and China , have compelled them to look for more energy sources. So driven by these factors natural gas is going to play a dominant role in the near future as coal played in 19th century and oil in 20th century. And it is matter of years that gas will overtake oil as the most preferred fuel of the 21st century.
___________________________________________________________________________
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment