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| EGoM likely to be flooded with demand for gas |
| Press Trust of India / New Delhi Jul 26, 2010, 19:12 IST |
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The much-talked meeting of the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on Wednesday is likely to see a flood of demand for natural gas from sectors like power, fertilizer and refineries that far outstrips the supplies.
While Reliance Industries (RIL) has already stated that it cannot produce more than current 60 million standard cubic meters a day (mmscmd) of output from its eastern offshore KG-D6 fields, demands for 52.28 mmscmd gas have been placed during the current fiscal alone, official sources said.
The government has so far allocated about 64 mmscmd of KG-D6 output to customers in power, fertilizer, refineries, steel and city gas sectors. The field may hit the peak output of 80 mmscmd sometime in 2012, making available about 16 mmscmd for allotment.
Also that year, Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) is likely to start producing 8-9 mmscmd from its Krishna Godavari fields and another 3 mmscmd would come from ONGC fields.
Against these supplies, power ministry has sought almost 13 mmscmd of gas for plants commissioning in 2010-11 fiscal and another 8.75 mmscmd for units coming up next fiscal, they said, adding it further wants 3.50 mmscmd for power plants coming up in 2012-13.
Fertilizer ministry wants 1.1 mmscmd this year, 3.39 mmscmd next and 11.03 mmscmd in 2012-13 for urea manufacturing units. State-owned gas utility GAIL India wants 0.75 mmscmd for its Pata petrochemical plant in Uttar Pradesh.
Sources said public and private sector oil refineries need over 35 mmscmd gas this fiscal and another 57.44 mmscmd in the next while city gas distribution firms wants 1.47 mmscmd in 2010-11 and 6 mmscmd in the next.
Steel ministry has communicated a requirement of 1.541 mmscmd gas before expansion and 4 mmscmd after implemetation of expansion plans for various steel plants of SAIL.
These demand is without considering the 28 mmscmd Anil Ambani Group has sought for a period of 17 years for its proposed 8,400 Mw power plants at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh, Shahapur in Maharashtra, Samalkot in Andhra Pradesh and Jambusar in Gujarat. None of the plants may need gas before 2013.
The panel, whose meeting was convened at the behest of the Prime Minister's Office, is likely to deliberate on the availability of gas in the country over the next few years.
The EGoM, headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, is likely to discuss prioritising the usage of the gas that is likely to become available in the next five years.
The oil ministry will make a presentation on source-wise and year-wise availability of gas and will also present a synopsis of the recent Supreme Court verdict on the Ambani gas dispute.
It may talk about KG-D6 field touching a peak output of 80 mmscmd in 2012 as well as while state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation's Bay of Bengal fields produce over 30 mmscmd from 2016.
Sources said the power ministry may put up the schedule of commissioning of new gas-fired power plants and their fuel requirement for the perusal of the EGoM.
The EGoM will deliberate over how much gas and from what sources can be allocated to plants that are being commissioned sequentially, they said, adding that the issue of fuel for projects that haven't yet started construction may also come up for discussion.
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