The Hindu Business Line : Aiyar moots Asian gas grid

The Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar, with the FICCI President, Mr Onkar S. Kanwar, and the past President, Mr Y.K. Modi, during the 3rd Asia Gas Buyers' Summit in the Capital on Monday. - Kamal Narang

New Delhi , Feb. 14

THE Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar, today mooted the idea of a gas grid connecting Asian countries, which have about 55 per cent of the world's gas reserves.

"Asia, which is sitting on 55 per cent of the world's gas reserves, has no pan-continental union. We should look beyond a national gas grid and think of an Asian gas grid. Asian natural gas players should come together to form an Asian gas grid which will enable member countries to maximise gains, end the dominance of western nations and ensure energy security and economic growth in Asia," Mr Aiyar said, inaugurating the third Asia Gas Buyers' Summit here.

The Minister felt that Asian nations should co-operate rather than compete with each other to attract huge investments required to fund the gas industry.

"Can we be co-operative partners in Asia and not competitors? Gas economy needs humungous levels of investment. Japan, Korea, China and India are flush with foreign exchange and can invest in gas producing countries," he said.

"In the face of a surge in demand for gas in the Asian region, where India and China are becoming major buyers, it should be possible to make available gas from Iran to China by extending the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline to South China," the Minister said.

"Can we not pull the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline across India to Upper Burma and onward into Yunan in China and thus start another Long March? We can thus connect the South China market to Iran," he said.

The pipeline can also flow in the reverse direction with gas from Kazakhstan into China and, from there, into India through the North-East.

"We should link all of Asia with a network of pipelines that flow in both directions," he said.

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