Question

Examine the significance of natural gas for industrial usage.

Hint:

Cover its double role as fuel and as petrochemical raw material, its low carbon dioxide emissions, the Indian reserves in the Krishna Godavari basin and Mumbai High, and the Hazira Vijaipur Jagdishpur pipeline.

Answer 1

Concept:

• Natural gas is an important clean energy resource found in association with or without petroleum.
• Industry values it for two separate reasons, as a fuel and as a raw material, which is what makes it different from coal.

Step 1: It serves industry as a source of energy.
Natural gas is used as a source of energy in factories and in power generation. It burns evenly and its supply can be controlled precisely, which suits processes that need steady heat.

Step 2: It also serves as an industrial raw material.
It is used as an industrial raw material in the petrochemical industry. Fertilisers, plastics and a wide range of chemicals are built from it, so the gas becomes part of the product itself and not merely the fuel that makes it.

Step 3: It is clean, which matters for the future.
Natural gas is considered an environment friendly fuel because of its low carbon dioxide emissions, and is therefore described as the fuel for the present century.
As rules on pollution tighten, industries that already run on gas are better placed than those depending on coal.

Step 4: India has substantial reserves and the means to move the gas.
Large reserves have been discovered in the Krishna Godavari basin. Along the western coast the reserves of Mumbai High and allied fields are supplemented by finds in the Gulf of Khambhat, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands also hold large reserves.
The 1700 km Hazira Vijaipur Jagdishpur pipeline links Mumbai High and Bassein with the fertiliser, power and industrial complexes of western and northern India.

Step 5: Its use is spreading beyond the factory.
The use of compressed natural gas, or CNG, for vehicles in place of liquid fuels is gaining wide popularity in the country, which further widens the market and makes investment in gas infrastructure worthwhile.

Final Answer: Natural gas matters to industry because it is both a clean fuel and a raw material for the petrochemical industry, it emits far less carbon dioxide than the alternatives, and India has large reserves together with a pipeline network that carries the gas to fertiliser, power and industrial complexes.