Power plants to get bulk of RIL KG-D6 gas

An Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is likely to allocate tomorrow bulk of the additional natural gas from Reliance Industries' KG-D6 fields to power plants to boost sagging economic growth.

The EGoM is to consider fixing users for about 50 million cubic meters per day of KG-D6 gas, official sources said. This is in addition to the initial 40 mmscmd output that was previously distributed primarily to urea and power plants.

Sources said as per the agenda prepared by the Oil Ministry, the power sector would get more than two-third of the additional gas to boost electricity generation. Refineries, including those of RIL, would get over 11 mmscmd.

RIL's petrochemical plants have been proposed to be given 1.918 mmscmd.

Of the 50 mmscmd, 20 mmscmd would be allocated on firm basis while the balance on temporary or fallback basis till such time that RIL is confident of producing 90 mmscmd of gas on a sustained basis.

Power plants will get 12.08 mmscmd of gas on firm basis and an additional 11.99 mmscmd on fallback basis. Captive power plants are proposed to be given 10 mmscmd on temporary basis, thereby meeting the entire 42.07 mmscmd fuel deficit that was left at existing power plants even after the allocation of 18 mmscmd from the initial volumes.