India natgas supply to rise 10 pct in 2010/11 -govt

NEW DELHI, July 23 (Reuters) - India's natural gas supplies are projected to rise about by 10 percent in 2010/11 (April-March) and 7 percent in 2011/12, junior oil minister Jitin Prasada said on Thursday.

Supplies are expected to rise from an estimated 242.47 million standard cubic metres a day (mmscmd) in 2008/09 to 267.09 mmscmd in 2010/11 and 285.42 mmscmd in 2011/12, he said in a written reply to a question in parliament.

He said the supply of liquefied natural gas in India is expected to rise to 83.12 mmscmd in 2011/12 from 52.50 mmscmd in the current fiscal year.

In reply to a separate question, the minister said India's natural gas demand was 196.64 mmscmd in 2007/08, while production was 75 mmscmd. (Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by John Mair)