In order to meet the rising energy needs of the country and to import oil and gas from the US, India is going to ask the US to ease restrictions on exporting gas to non-FTA countries. At present, India does not have an FTA (free trade agreement) with the US. On the other hand, the gas-surplus US has allowed conditional export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from five of its projects to nations with which the US does not have a free trade agreement, so-called ‘non-FTA’ countries.
India would discuss the issue of LNG exports to non-FTA nations at the Indo-US Energy Dialogue. The US can use five terminals such as Sabine Pass, Freeport, Lake Charles Exports, Dominion Cove Point LNG and Cameron LNG LLC terminal in Louisiana to export LNG to non-FTA countries. Indian companies led by state-owned GAIL have already signed agreements with the US firms to buy as much as 3.5 million tonnes a year of LNG.
India is likely to become world's third largest energy consumer by 2020. Currently, India imports around 80 percent of its oil needs and around 25 percent of its gas requirement. Meanwhile, the government is also taking measures to increase the domestic production of oil and gas. Presently, only 0.93 million sq km area in India is held under exploration and production in 19 basins as compared to total estimated sedimentary area of 3.14 million square kilometers, comprising 26 sedimentary basins. Meanwhile, the Oil Ministry has formulated a roadmap for cutting India's dependence on imports to meet its energy needs. The Ministry wants imports of domestic crude reduced to 50 percent by 2020 and by 25 percent in 2025 through intensive exploration and exploitation of untapped reserves.