India has restarted talks on forming a liquefied natural gas (LNG) purchasing alliance with Japan and South Korea (and could also include China) as Asian demand for the fuel grows. Gas is expected to become a major part of the energy basket for most Asian countries. Natural gas currently accounts for about 8 per cent of India’s overall energy mix. In the last decade, while India’s domestic natural gas production has grown by 10 per cent, imports of LNG have risen by 335 per cent. This is likely to grow further as India gradually shifts to an oil-based economy.