Osaka Gas Co. is making significant inroads into India’s energy sector, constructing a 100-kilometer gas pipeline in Chennai and forming new partnerships in renewable energy despite the challenges foreign companies face in the market.
The Japanese utility entered India in 2021 through an investment in Singapore’s AG&P Group, securing exclusive rights to regions covering 10% of India’s territory. The company targets annual sales of 3.5 billion cubic meters by 2030, equivalent to more than half its domestic gas business in Japan.
“India has robust demand for city gas, which is used as automotive fuel as well,” Takeshi Shinohara, president of Osaka Gas India, told reporters.
The company recently announced a joint venture with Clean Max Enviro Energy Solutions to sell solar and wind power to businesses in Karnataka and other states. It aims to have approximately 400 megawatts of renewable generation capacity by 2028, about 2.5 times its current overseas renewable portfolio.
Osaka Gas’s international operations have grown to represent 39% of its combined operating profit and equity-method investment profit, compared with 14% at Tokyo Gas. International sales reached ¥116.4 billion ($125 million) in the year ended March 2024, up from just ¥18.7 billion eight years earlier.
President Masataka Fujiwara emphasized the company’s commitment to the market, noting, “We have a 120-year-old gas business, and we’re going to see it take root in India.”
