India's natural gas consumption is set to jump 60% between 2023 and 2030, doubling the country's need for liquefied natural gas imports, as domestic output is expected to grow much more slowly than demand,

India’s liquefied natural gas purchases are set to more than double by 2030 as infrastructure expansion and modest growth in domestic production prompt a jump in consumption, according to the International Energy Agency.

The targeted strategies mentioned by the IEA include driving higher utilisation of gas-based power plants, faster adoption of LNG in heavy-duty transport, and further accelerating expansion of city gas infrastructure.

The report, launched during India Energy Week in New Delhi, highlights that after over a decade of sluggish growth and periodic declines, India’s natural gas demand grew by more than 10% in both 2023 and 2024.

Pushed up by higher consumption by the city gas distribution (CGD) sector, natural gas consumption in India is projected to grow by nearly 60 per cent to 103 billion cubic metres (bcm) annually, while gas imports will double by 2030, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday.

Rapid urbanisation and industrialisation is set to transform the energy market in the world's fifth-largest economy and drive gas demand growth through the end of the decade and possibly beyond that,