Amid rising tensions in West Asia disrupting energy supplies, the government has expanded the CBG-CGD Synchronisation Scheme to allow compressed biogas injection into gas pipelines | Photo Credit: The Hindu

As conflict intensifies in West Asia, throttling energy supplies, the government has expanded the scope of the CBG-CGD Synchronisation Scheme to include the injection of compressed biogas (CBG) in the gas pipeline network.

A senior government official said that the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) on Wednesday extended the scope of the Synchronisation Scheme for co-mingling of domestic gas for supply to CNG (transport) and PNG (Domestic) segments of city gas distribution (CGD) networks.

The Ministry has expanded the scope of the Synchronisation Scheme to include the injection of CBG into the gas pipeline network. This is also in accordance with the revised scheme guidelines issued in August last year.

Boost to CBG offtake and utilisation

The primary objective of the scheme is to facilitate the off-take of CBG through cost-effective pipeline transportation from production facilities to consumption centres, and to ensure maximum utilisation.

This will lead to assured off-take for producers, lower logistics costs due to direct pipeline connectivity, uniform pricing, and reduced reliance on imported natural gas, said the official.

West Asia conflict disrupts energy supplies

The development comes at a time when tensions in West Asia are peaking after Israel attacked the South Pars gas field, following which Iran retaliated, targeting oil and gas infrastructure in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait. India sources 47 per cent of its Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) supplies from Qatar.

Relief for domestic gas supply segments

A senior official with a CGD firm said that such a step will “effectively” help meet the shortfall in domestic supply for PNG (D) and CNG (T).

Since the fresh escalation in violence in West Asia, the government has been ensuring the supply of natural gas to priority sectors, including 100 per cent supply to PNG (D) and CNG (T), while supplies to industrial and commercial consumers are being regulated at around 80 per cent.

Push to expand PNG connections

The government is also trying to shift some commercial LPG consumers to PNG, and in this direction, it has activated more than 1.25 lakh PNG connections for domestic, commercial, industrial, and CNG use.

Published on March 19, 2026