Sanjiv Kumar Sharma is presently serving as Chief General Manager at Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL). He brings over 28 years of experience in the petroleum and natural gas sector, gained through his tenure at IOCL. Since 2017, he has specialised in gas sourcing and infrastructure. Presently, he is responsible for coordinating IOCL’s gas infrastructure activities. This includes the management of city gas distribution (CGD) and pipeline joint venture companies, leading the bidding for natural gas pipelines, overseeing liquefied natural gas (LNG) regas terminal expansion and managing regas capacity booking. His early career focused on the tendering, contracting and construction of significant infrastructure, including liquefied petroleum gas bottling plants, lube blending plants, retail outlets and CGD projects.
As per Sharma, “India is the fastest growing major economy and is moving towards the goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047. This will require major infrastructure development across all sectors and include the development of India as a global refining hub. In the natural gas sector, the centre plans to increase the share of natural gas to 15 per cent of the country’s energy basket. In this regard, city gas projects under development will be a big contributor and will require huge investments. The natural gas sector will also see investments in new gas pipelines, as well as the development and augmentation of regasification capacities across regassified LNG terminals. Large investment and infrastructure development are anticipated for setting up LNG stations along national highways for the long-haul heavy-duty trucking business.”
However, natural gas projects are highly capital-intensive, with returns linked to the usage of those facilities through increased gas demand in the country. The biggest challenge is the high prices of imported LNG, which is hindering the growth of gas consumption and, consequently, the utilisation of infrastructure and the ability to provide the desired returns to companies that have made huge investments. Further, electric vehicles are emerging as a significant challenge to the CNG industry, creating scepticism within the industry about new investments. However, with new LNG liquefaction facilities planned worldwide, LNG prices are likely to fall and emerge as an affordable alternate fuel.
With respect to his work ethics, Sharma highlights, “Always trusting contractors and colleagues, along with honesty in work and always looking for solutions to the smallest problems. Being true to your work and putting in the best effort is key. In any crisis, it is imperative to not panic and look for solutions and start working on them.”