The ongoing tension in West Asia had drawn lines of concern to the common man’s kitchen and farmers’ fields. When the supply from Qatar, India’s largest gas supplier, came to a halt due to the war, it seemed that there would be a big crisis of CNG, PNG and urea in the country. But, amidst this deep crisis in the Middle East, a foreign energy giant company emerged as a ‘sanjeevani’ for India. Global energy company Shell used its power to handle the gas supply in the country in such a way that the public and industries got great relief.
When gas consignment from Qatar stopped, Shell set an example
We buy almost half of the natural gas we need from abroad. A large part of this (about 45-50 percent) comes under long-term contracts with Qatar. But, when Iran retaliated after the attacks by America and Israel, Qatar stopped the supply considering the situation. Suddenly the import of 11.2 million tonnes of LNG went into crisis. In such a critical time, the Indian unit of Shell PLC took the responsibility. Taking advantage of its global network, the company bridged India’s shortage by importing gas from countries like Oman, Australia and Nigeria. The result was that Shell became the largest supplier of imported gas in India in the month of March.
From farmers’ urea to the kitchen of their homes… this is how tension went away
Gas has a direct impact on our everyday life. From this gas, urea fertilizer is made, vehicles run (CNG) and piped cooking gas (PNG) reaches homes. The biggest concern of the government due to stoppage of supply from Qatar was regarding urea production. When Indian fertilizer companies floated the tender for gas, Shell alone won the contract for 4 TBTU out of the total 6 TBTU (Trillion British Thermal Units). Due to this quick arrangement made by Shell, the availability of gas in the country became stable much faster than LPG. In this way, urea plants started getting gas again and the fertilizer crisis looming over the farmers was averted.
Shell transported gas from its ships to India’s shores
The biggest problem in times of crisis is where to get the ships to bring gas from far away places. It takes up to 45 days to bring gas from countries like America. This is where Shell’s strong infrastructure came in handy. Shell has its own huge LNG terminal in Hazira, Gujarat, with a capacity of 5 million tonnes per annum. Apart from this, the company has its own huge fleet of more than 65 ships. When government companies were facing shipping problems in sourcing gas, Shell quickly transported the gas to Indian shores through its ships.
Shell will maintain the same pace in April also
Initially, the situation was so bad that the government had to cut the gas supply of some industries by up to 40 percent, so that fertilizer plants and city gas distribution could be kept running. However, the situation has improved rapidly due to the perfect combination of record imports of Shell and domestic production of 92 million standard cubic meters per day. Since the beginning of April, urea plants have started getting about 90 to 95 percent of their gas requirement. The supply for commercial use and city gas network has also been increased by 10 percent. Experts are saying that Shell will maintain the same pace in April also, due to which no new gas crisis will arise in the country.
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