Kerala GAIL Gas Limited likely to be wound up
The state government is likely to wind up the Kerala GAIL Gas Ltd (KGGL), floated towards the end of 2011 to execute ‘city gas’ projects in different parts of the state. The move comes following the company’s failure to secure contracts for city gas network development project anywhere in the state. According to latest reports, the Indian Oil-Adani Gas Private Ltd (IOAGPL) has won the contracts for most of the projects announced so far. KGGL is a joint venture between GAIL and Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) that aims at accelerating the delivery of compressed natural gas (CNG) for the transport sector and piped natural gas (PNG) for domestic consumers and hotels. The company had also planned extraction of natural gas. The authorized share capital of KGGL is Rs 30 crore and its paid up capital is Rs 23.86 crore. “In fact, the director boards of both GAIL and KSIDC had given the go-ahead for the dissolution of the company, after it failed to get the city gas project in Kochi in 2015. That project was awarded to IOAGPL. However, we slowed down the process hoping that the company might get contracts for projects in other districts,” said a top KSIDC official. Meanwhile, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) on Friday decided to issue the letter of intent (LOI) for the city gas distribution network development projects in Kozhikode, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram and Wayanad districts also to IOAGPL. This came a few days after the board decided to award similar contracts in Kannur, Kasaragod and Mahe to IOAGPL. KSIDC officials conceded that the prospects of KGGL’s survival have thinned further with the latest awarding of the contracts to IOAGPL. Interestingly, public sector restructuring and internal audit board (RIAB) officials are upset at the tardy progress made in the execution of the city gas network development project in Kochi. According to official sources, only less than 1,000 piped natural gas connections have been given in Kochi so far. RIAB officials said they are planning to take up the delays in the project with the IOAGPL representatives. Russell Okung Authentic Jersey
Adani walks away with gas rights for 21 cities; BPCL bags 11 cities
Billionaire Gautam Adani’s group has bagged licences to retail gas in 21 cities in the latest city gas distribution bid round that saw state-owned Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd’s unit and Torrent Gas emerging as the other big winners. Adani Gas won rights to retail CNG to automobiles and piped cooking gas to households and industries in 13 cities on its own and another nine, including Allahabad, in joint venture with state-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC), according to results of 78 out of the 86 cities that were bid out in the country’s biggest city gas distribution (CGD) bid round. According to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB), IOC on its own won rights to seven cities, including Coimbatore and Salem in Tamil Nadu and Guna in Madhya Pradesh. Bharat Gas Resources Ltd, a unit of state-owned BPCL, won licence for 11 cities like Amethi and Rai Bareli in Uttar Pradesh and Ahmednagar in Maharashtra, while Torrent Gas Pvt Ltd made nine winning bids that included ones for Alwar in Rajasthan, Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh and Karaikal in Puducherry. State gas utility GAIL’s retailing arm, GAIL Gas, managed rights for four cities, including Dehradun. Indraprastha Gas Ltd, the firm that retails CNG in the national capital, won city gas rights for Meerut and Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh. “As per the commitment made by the various entities in the 78 Geographical Areas (GAs) approved for issuance of Letter of Intent (LoI) in 9th CGD Bidding Round, 1.53 crore domestic piped natural gas connections and 3,627 CNG (compressed natural gas) stations for transport sector would be installed largely during a period of 8 years up to September 30, 2026,” PNGRB said. When the bid round closed last month, IOC, BPCL and Adani Gas Ltd were the top bidders. Of the 86 cities offered for retailing of CNG to automobiles and piped cooking gas to households in the 9th CGD bid round, IOC bid for 34 cities on its own and another 20 in partnership with Adani Gas Ltd. Adani Gas on its own bid for 32 cities. Bharat Gas Resources Ltd bid for as many as 53 cities while GAIL Gas Ltd put in offers for 34 cities. Gujarat-based Torrent Gas Pvt Ltd bid for 31 cities while Gujarat Gas Ltd put in offers for 21 areas. Petronet LNG Ltd, India’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer, sought to foray into CGD business by bidding for licence in seven cities. Indraprastha Gas Ltd had put in bids for 11 cities. In a statement, PNGRB said the 9th CGD Bidding Round was launched on April 12 for development of city gas networks for the 86 Geographical Areas (GAs) which includes 174 districts (156 complete and 18 part), spread over 22 states and Union Territories (UTs) in India. “Based upon the bids evaluations PNGRB approved issue of Letters of Intent (LoI) to the successful bidders for 78 GAs,” it said. The regulator said bids for remaining GAs are being evaluated and outcome of the same will be announced shortly. “At present, CGD authorisation has been given by PNGRB for 92 GAs covering 124 districts spread over 23 States and UTs. These cover 20 per cent of India’s population and 11 per cent of its geographical area. In addition, CGD operations are being carried out in 5 districts, authorisation for which is either under consideration of PNGRB or is sub-judice. “With the completion of 9th CGD Bidding Round, CGD would be available in 178 GAs comprising 280 districts spread over 26 States and UTs covering more than 50 per cent of India’s population and 35 per cent of its geographical area,” PNGRB added. Greg Luzinski Womens Jersey
IOC says will invest Rs 20,000 crore in city gas projects in 5-8 years
Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the nation’s largest oil company, plans to invest Rs 20,000 crore in city gas distribution projects in next 5-8 years as it bets big on gas business to complement its traditional oil refining and marketing business, its chairman Sanjiv Singh said today. The firm, which owns a third of India’s oil refining capacity and has 44 per cent market share of fuel business, sees compressed natural gas (CNG) replacing a some of the petrol and diesel consumed in vehicles today and LPG getting replaced by piped cooking gas in households. It wants to be in these businesses to maintain its market leadership position. IOC, which among all PSUs bid most aggressively in the latest city gas distribution (CGD) licences, is hoping to net licences to retail CNG to automobiles and piped natural gas to households and industries in about 20 cities, he told reporters here. These will be in addition to nearly 10 licences it already has. “We put in bids for 57 out of the 86 Geographical Areas (or cities) put on offer in the 9th CGD bid round. Out of this, we expect to net 20 GAs, plus or minus one or two,” he said. Singh said the investment in these 20 GAs would be at least Rs 20,000 crore spread over five to eight years. These numbers include investments in setting up of CNG dispensing stations as well as laying pipelines in cities to transport gas to households for cooking purposes and industries for commercial use. IOC, which has 80.7 million tonnes per annum of refining capacity (33 per cent of the total in India), is looking to commission a 5 million tonnes a year liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal at Ennore in Tamil Nadu before the year-end and has booked capacity on similar planned terminals on both east and west coast. “We see piped natural gas (PNG) replacing LPG and CNG finding a way into vehicles on a bigger scale in near future and we want to be there,” he said adding the LPG can be an excellent feedstock for manufacturing petrochemicals. The shift towards natural gas is also driven by environmental consideration as it is much cleaner than petrol and diesel. IOC currently operates city gas distribution (CGD) networks in Agra and Lucknow through Green Gas Ltd, its joint venture with GAIL (India) Ltd. It is also implementing CGD projects in Chandigarh, Allahabad, Panipat, Ernakulam, Daman, Udhamsingh Nagar and Dharwad through a joint venture with Adani Gas Ltd (IndianOil-Adani Gas Pvt Ltd). In the 9th CGD bid round, IOC has out of the 78 GAs, results for which have been declared, won IOC has won rights to seven, including Coimbatore and Salem in Tamil Nadu and Guna in Madhya Pradesh, on its own and another nine, including Allahabad, in joint venture with Adani Gas Ltd. IOC also has a 49 per cent share of the country’s crude and product pipeline (by length) and 44 per cent share in petroleum products with over 48,170 customer touch points. Vonn Bell Jersey