EGoM to decide on RIL gas allocation tomorrow

An Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) is likely to meet tomorrow to decide on allocation of natural gas from Reliance Industries' (RIL) eastern offshore KG-D6 fields to various power plants.

"The Election Commission (EC) has given a go-ahead to hold the EGoM meeting at 1300 hrs on April 9," a top official said.

EGoM headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee would decide which power plant will get how much of KG-D6 gas and when.

Currently, gas-based power plants face a deficit of about 36 million cubic meters per day, while only 18 mmcmd out of KG-D6's initial 40 mmcmd output has been allocated to them.

The meeting was originally scheduled for last month itself but had to be postponed after a senior MP complained to the EC that the ministers' panel was going to allocate the gas to power plants in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, giving the ruling Congress party in the two states an advantage for making an election promise of giving free power to farmers.

"The EC has been briefed of the necessity of holding the EGoM meeting and it has agreed for the same," he said.

The EGoM meeting has been necessitated with the beginning of natural gas production from the KG-D6 fields. Production is slated for a quickly ramp up to 20 million cubic meters per day by next month, creating surplus beyond the about 15 mmcmd allocation made to 15 urea making plants.