Oil regulator seeks infra lending for CGD projs

Oil regulator PNGRB has asked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to include networks built for sale of CNG to automobiles and piped gas to households in the definition of infrastructure so they can get project financing.

Currently, only gas, crude oil and petroleum product pipelines are covered under the RBI guidelines for infrastructure lending.

Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board Chairman L Mansingh this week wrote to RBI Governor D Subbarao seeking expansion of the scope of Infrastructure Lending to include city gas distribution (CGD) networks.

"CGD networks should be considered as an integral part of the infrastructure facility for reaching natural gas to the bulk of consumers in the domestic, transportation, commercial and industrial sectors," he wrote on January 4.

Unlike petroleum and other products, natural gas can mainly be transported and distributed through pipelines and CGD networks only, he said.

Setting up of CGD networks require massive investments, he said, "I would request you to kindly include specifically city gas distribution networks in the guidelines for infrastructural lending in order to facilitate the flow of credit to this sector and speedy implementation of the projects."