India’s oil and natural gas pipeline infrastructure has evolved rapidly over the past few years, playing a pivotal role in shaping the country’s energy transition journey. As a cleaner alternative to conventional fossil fuels, natural gas has become increasingly central to India’s push for sustainable and efficient energy use. Given the country’s ambitious target to raise the share of natural gas in its energy mix to 15 per cent by 2030 (from
~7 per cent at present), a robust pipeline network and enhanced interconnectivity remain essential for bridging supply-demand gaps and enabling equitable regional access and safe transportation. Oil pipelines have also witnessed substantial progress across key segments. Digitalisation and automation have been instrumental in transforming the sector.
Current landscape and planned network coverage of natural gas
Gas pipeline infrastructure in India has witnessed steady expansion in recent years. According to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB), as of March 2025, the total length of authorised natural gas pipelines in India stands at 34,233 km. Of this, around 25,429 km is operational, while around 10,459 km is currently under construction. Among the authorised pipelines, common carrier pipelines constitute around 95 per cent, tie-in connectivity pipelines account for 2 per cent and the remaining are dedicated pipelines.
The city gas distribution (CGD) sector has long played a central role in boosting natural gas consumption. As of May 2025, the country has recorded significant growth in CGD, with approximately 15.3 million piped natural gas (PNG) domestic connections, 45,730 PNG commercial connections and 20,697 PNG industrial connections. Minimum work programme targets (MWPTs) have played a critical role in fuelling progress by ensuring the timely, accountable and measurable expansion of gas pipeline infrastructure across the country. The MWPT across all states and union territories collectively amounts to 126.36 million connections. Of there, about 47 per cent, equivalent to 15.26 million PNG domestic connections, have been achieved. Among these domestic connections, around 63 per cent (or 9.63 million) are billed connections, reflecting steady progress in consumer conversion and revenue realisation.
This increasing coverage and utilisation of pipeline and related infrastructure is also reflected in the country’s rising natural gas consumption. In 2024-25, India’s total natural gas consumption reached 71.3 billion cubic metres (bcm), marking a growth of around 6 per cent compared to 67.5 bcm in 2023-24. This upward trend continued into the first quarter of 2025-26, during which the natural gas consumption stood at 17.4 bcm.
Mapping progress in oil pipeline infrastructure
In the petroleum segment, India has a total of 13,652 km of authorised petroleum and petroleum product pipelines, of which 9,301 km are operational and 4,263.5 km under construction, reflecting increased infrastructure growth in liquid fuels. Petroleum product consumption rose to 239.2 million metric tonnes (mmt) in 2024-25 from 234.3 mmt in 2023-24, while production increased to 283.9 mmt in 2024-25 from 276.1 mmt in 2023-24. As of April 2025, the installed capacity of crude oil processing capacity stood at 258.1 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa). As of July 2025, the country has 309 aviation fuel stations, 213 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) bottling plants, 25,573 PSU-only LPG distributors, a bottling capacity of 25,053 thousand metric tonnes per annum, around 413 auto LPG dispensing stations and 331 million active LPG customers.
India’s petroleum corridors form a vital energy logistics backbone, linking coastal terminals to inland refineries and demand centres. The western corridor, centred on Mundra and Kandla ports, supplies refineries in Jamnagar, Vadinar and Panipat via pipelines such as the Mundra-Panipat crude pipeline, which is now being expanded. In the east, the Paradip-Hyderabad pipeline connects Indian Oil Corporation Limited’s Paradip refinery with key southern states. Northern and central India are served by corridors like Salaya-Mathura and Mumbai-Manmad-Bijwasan, while the southern network includes the Kochi-Coimbatore-Karur and Chennai-Trichy-Madurai pipelines.
Policy initiatives, such as the Hydrocarbon Vision 2025 and recent PNGRB regulations, mandating third-party access and encouraging cross-country investment, are further strengthening the oil pipeline network. The Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Bill, 2024 ensures policy stability and allows a single licence for all hydrocarbons, simplifying operations for oil and gas (O&G) producers.
Improving tariff dynamics via coordinated policy approach
In alignment with the government’s “One Nation, One Grid, One Tariff” mission, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has amended the PNGRB (Determination of Natural Gas Pipeline Tariff) Regulations to implement a unified tariff structure for natural gas pipelines across the country. As part of this reform, a standardised rate of Rs 80.97 per metric million British thermal units was introduced, effective from June 1, 2024, based on a three-zone distance-based model. Under this structure, Zone 1 covers distances up to 300 km from the gas source, Zone 2 spans 300-1,200 km and Zone 3 applies to any distance beyond 1,200 km.
Building on this foundation, the PNGRB, in March 2025, proposed further amendments aimed at reducing the number of tariff zones from three to two and introducing a lower “Zone 1” rate, specifically for all CGD entities supplying compressed natural gas and PNG to households, regardless of their distance from the source. The objective is to ensure uniform access to clean fuel, particularly for remote and underserved areas, while also encouraging greater infrastructure investment. Additionally, the PNGRB’s public consultation document suggested targeted support for isolated network operators and mechanisms to equitably distribute benefits derived from higher-than-normative gas volumes. Industry experts have largely welcomed the recent amendments to gas transmission tariffs, describing them as a step towards unlocking the full potential of India’s pipelines.
Further reinforcing its commitment to fairness and transparency, the PNGRB issued a directive in July 2025 mandating that CGD companies abolish volume-based differential pricing for domestic PNG consumers. Under this directive, a single uniform rate must now be applied to all household consumers, irrespective of their total consumption. The measure is designed to prevent penalisation of high-usage households and curb the misuse of subsidised gas by commercial users operating under domestic classifications. Gas distributors have also been urged to analyse consumption data for anomalies and implement corrective measures where usage patterns significantly deviate from expected norms.
Scaling impact via collective action
India’s pipeline infrastructure continues to see significant expansion through key projects aimed at strengthening energy supply chains and meeting future demand. In line with this, as of February 2025, Petronet Liquefied Natural Gas Limited is expanding the capacity of its Dahej terminal from 17.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to 22.5 mtpa. The company is also investing in a petrochemical complex at Dahej, which will have ethane and propane handling infrastructure, a 750 kilotonnes per annum (ktpa) propane dehydrogenation unit and a 500 ktpa polypropylene plant. In addition to being the first in India, the project will make use of cold energy from liquefied natural gas terminals for petrochemical refrigeration, which will help reduce its operational costs. In addition, a 5 mtpa capacity terminal is under construction at Gopalpur, Odisha.
As of June 2025, GAIL (India) Limited has announced an investment of Rs 8.44 billion to enhance the capacity of the Dahej-Uran-Dabhol-Panvel natural gas pipeline. This is aimed at addressing the growing energy demand in the region. Currently operating at a capacity of 19.9 million standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd), the pipeline network is set to be upgraded to 22.5 mmscmd by 2028. As of December 2024, GAIL is undertaking pipeline construction projects worth Rs 180 billion to enhance natural gas connectivity and expand the country’s energy infrastructure for future demands.
Looking ahead
The outlook for the sector appears promising, with a steadily rising demand and increasing coverage of pipeline infrastructure. Alongside, reforms to amend and optimise the tariff structure are expected to widen the consumer base and improve access to PNG. Despite challenges, the expansion of the pipeline network has significant scope for growth, with the industry estimating that the CGD sector will grow at a CAGR of around 10 per cent by 2040.
The segment is also exploring decarbonising their operations and shifting to cleaner alternative forms of energy. In line with this, in June 2025, the PNGRB recommended that operators transition from the utilisation of gas engine-driven compressors to electric motor-driven alternatives powered by renewable energy sources. This move aligns with the country’s broader climate goals.
The petroleum sector is embracing advanced technologies to boost efficiency and sustainability. Enhanced oil recovery, digital tools and artificial intelligence are streamlining exploration and production, while initiatives like biorefineries and compressed bio-gas supplement the industry’s push towards cleaner, tech-driven innovation. The government has undertaken various policy reforms and programmes to complement the modernisation of O&G pipeline infrastructure. The Ethanol Blending Programme targets 20 per cent ethanol in petrol by 2025-26 to reduce fossil fuel use and emissions. O&G pipelines remain central to India’s energy architecture, critical for transporting fuels efficiently and enabling the country’s transition to a more sustainable and self-reliant energy ecosystem.
Aditi Gupta
