Regional cooperation towards trans-country natural gas market: an socio economic assessment for India

Abstract

Purpose – India began gas imports since 2004 through liquified natural gas (LNG) route. Imports through trans-country gas pipelines could help in bringing gas directly into the densely populated Northern part of India, which are far from domestic gas resources as well as coastal LNG terminals. The purpose of this paper is to report scenarios, which quantify the impacts for India of regional cooperation to materialize trans-country pipelines. The analysis covers time period from 2005 to 2030. Design/methodology/approach – The long-term energy system model ANSWER-MARKAL is used for the analysis. Findings – Trans-country pipelines could deliver direct economic benefit of US$310 billion for the period 2010-2030. Besides these, there are positive externalities in terms of lower greenhouse gas emissions and improved local environment, and enhanced energy security. However, the benefits are sensitive to global gas prices as higher gas prices would reduce the demand for gas and also the positive externalities from using gas. Practical implications – Trans-country pipelines are of great importance to India as they add 0.4 per cent to gross domestic product over the period besides yielding positive environmental externalities and improved energy security. Originality/value – Quantification of benefits from trans-country pipeline proposals till 2030.