CGD firms to get priority in gas allocation rejig

CGD firms like IGL currently get 8.32 mmscmd gas out of the total domestic supplies of about 77 mmscmd

In a major revamp of natural gas allocation policy, the government will give city gas projects selling CNG to automobiles and piped cooking gas to households top-most priority for receipt of domestically produced gas.

Presently, urea-manufacturing fertiliser plants have the first right over the domestically produced gas, followed by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) plants and power stations. City gas distribution (CGD) projects are ranked fourth .

This priority listing is now being changed to give CGD firms like Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL), which sells CNG to automobiles and piped gas to households in national capital, top priority, official sources said.

CGD firms like IGL currently get 8.32 million standard cubic meters per day (mscmd) of gas out of total domestic supplies of about 77 mscmd.

As city gas projects get rolled out in newer cities, the requirement of the sector will grow and so the government is now giving it top priority.

Sources said compressed natural gas (CNG) and piped natural gas (PNG) are clean fuels and will help replace subsidised diesel in automobiles and LPG in households respectively.

According to the new allocation policy being finalised, additional requirement for CGD will be first met by imposing proportionate cuts in the domestic gas presently being supplied to sectors other than priority sectors as decided by the Petroleum Ministry.

Plants providing inputs to stretegic sectors of atomic energy and space research will get the second priority, followed by plants that can extract higher fractions from natural gas.

Gas-based urea plants will rank fourth in the priority list and power stations fifth.

Since domestic gas production is now stagnant, it is being proposed to freeze allocation to all sectors expect CND and LPG sector, at supply levels of 2013-14. In 2013-14, fertilizer plants received 29.79 mscmd of gas. Power plants got 25.59 mscmd while LPG extraction plants received 1.83 mscmd. Petrochemical plants received 3.32 mscmd while refineries got 1.89 mscmd and steel plants 1.32 mscmd.

Sources said incremental production from New Exploration and Licensing Policy (NELP)  blocks like KG-D6 and Gujarat State Petroleum Corp's Deendayal gas will be allocated as per the decision taken in the meeting of an Empowered Group of Ministers  on August 23, 2013.

The EGoM had decided that incremental gas would go to power plants.

Since the BJP government has wound-up the EGoM on gas pricing and allocation, the new priority list is being vetted by a committee of Secretaries  and a final order is likely to be issued shortly, the sources added.