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June 16 (UPI) -- Russian energy company Gazprom suggested it may be looking to offer natural gas supplies in the expanding economy of India. Deputy Chairman Alexander Medvedev was quoted by Russian news agency Tass as saying the Central Asian country was an emerging objective.
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"I do not rule out that we will soon find a solution that will allow implementing the project on gas supplies to India," he said.
India and China are two of the fastest growing economies in the world and, according to the International Energy Agency, it's India that accounts for about 25 percent of total energy use by 2040. It consumes about 5 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day and could double that appetite by 2022.
Gazprom's comments came one day after British energy company BP and Reliance Industries Ltd. announced plans to develop deepwater gas basins off the coast of India.
"This is an important step forward for BP in India," BP CEO Bob Dudley said in a statement. "It is testament to our commitment to working in partnership with Reliance and with the government to produce more energy in India, for India."
The deepwater prospect should yield about 425 million cubic feet of natural gas per day at peak capacity and come into service in 2020.
Coal is still a dominant energy form in India, and parts of the country still lack a reliable source of electricity. India is No. 4 in the world in terms of new solar power and No. 4 in the world based on cumulative wind power capacity.
