In a letter to the heads of India's federal states, CEA said that gas production in India is forecast to plunge by 35% to 27.64 million metric standard cubic metres per day (Mmscm/day) in the next fiscal year. "As per the information made available by the ministry of petroleum and natural gas regarding NELP gas, the production is likely to go down by 15.03 mmscmd in 2012-13 and additional 3.42 Mmscm/day in 2013-14 against the availability of 42.67 Mmscm/day in 2011-12," the CEA letter reads.

A lack of gas supply is seriously impacting power production in India, forcing some plant operators to idle some plants due to non-availability of gas. Electricity power transmission system operators in some of India's major cities, including Mumbai, recently had to impose emergency measures that subject the city's inhabitants to six to eight hours of power cuts each day.

Keen to remedy the gas shortage, India has accelerated investment in creation of LNG re-gasification facilities. With new re-gasification LNG terminals coming up at Kochi and Dabhol, the country's current import capacity of 14 million tonnes a year is set to increase to 20 million tonnes a year by 2013.