RoydadNaft –  India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has failed to find a partner for the development of a natural gas field for the third time, running out of options for the field, Economic Times outlet Energyworld reported, citing unnamed sources.

ONGC, a state-owned company, had tendered participation in the Deen Dayal field in the Bay of Bengal in June. The bid submission period ended in September, the report also said. No company made a bid in the tender.

ONGC acquired a majority stake in the field from the Gujarat government in 2017, paying $1.2 billion for it. Initial estimates of the field’s reserves put these at up to 20 trillion cubic feet, which made it the largest deep sea field in India. Later, however, the reserve estimate was revised significantly down, to a tenth of that initial estimate.

Deen Dayal gas production has been modest since ONG acquired it, with the company reporting seven development wells in its tender offer, noting that four of these wells had failed to produce any gas and their “performance was sub-optimal.” The company also reported “severe technical challenges and complications” in the other three wells that prompted their abandonment.

India’s use of natural gas is currently a negligible part of its energy mix but the government wants to change that, potentially turning the country into a regional natural gas hub. Currently at 6%, the share of gas in India’s energy mix is seen rising to 15% by 2030.

The boost would come in response to surging demand, driven by industrial expansion and higher fuel demand, according to a forecast from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Per that forecast, demand for natural gas in India would increase threefold between now and 2050.

Demand growth would also result from India’s energy transition commitments. Under these, the government has set a target for boosting gas consumption to 500 million cubic meters of natural gas by 2030, which is equal to some 17.66 billion cubic feet daily. That would be up from just 185 million cubic meters daily in the last fiscal year.