India is looking to build its first strategic natural gas reserves by using old, depleted hydrocarbon wells to store the fuel and hedge against global supply disruption, with an initial capacity to store 3-4bcm of gas, Sumit Kishore, an executive director at GAIL said.

• India has 5mn tons of strategic petroleum reserves but no storage facilities for natural gas. Indian companies are currently holding 2bcm of gas in pipelines and LNG tanks for commercial use.
• The strategic facilities would be built in phases in India's western and northeastern regions and are expected to take 3-4 years to build after governmental approval, he added.
• India aims to raise the share of natural gas in its energy mix to 15% by 2030 from around 6.2% now. The nation consumes around 60bcm/yr of gas.