The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has issued draft guidelines for blending hydrogen in domestic piped natural gas (D-PNG) up to a maximum of 5 per cent. The downstream petroleum regulator said hydrogen-blended natural gas (HNG) should not dilute existing city gas distribution (CGD) obligations relating to safety, integrity, gas quality, metering, billing, quality of service, emergency response or complaint handling.
The PNGRB may reduce the setpoint, impose controls, suspend HNG supply or require a return to natural gas where evidence, incidents, complaints, billing errors or uncertainty undermine safety protocols. “No commercial supply under these Guidelines shall exceed 5.0 percent,” the regulator said. Consumers, local authorities and emergency services should receive advance information on concentration, billing, appliance or emergency guidance and rollout, it added.
The initiative to blend hydrogen with natural gas is in line with the government’s aim to promote cleaner fuels while reducing dependence on imported crude oil and natural gas. However, hydrogen blending requires strict safety protocols due to its highly flammable nature, which increases fire and explosion risks.
The guidelines would apply from the hydrogen receipt and interface point, through the blending facility, to the downstream commercial deployment area and domestic installations. Hydrogen production, transportation, compression and storage upstream of the interface point, including upstream mobile cascade systems, remain outside the scope of these guidelines and would independently have to comply with applicable laws and approvals from competent authorities.
The PNGRB has excluded hydrogen blending in compressed natural gas (CNG), automotive use, transmission pipelines, pure hydrogen supply, refuelling, deblending and non-domestic PNG from the scope of the guidelines.
The guidelines have also set rules for gas quality, concentration, homogeneity, interchangeability and odorisation, emergency isolation, suspension and restoration of natural gas supply.
