Indian Oil to invest Rs 7,000 cr in new gas distribution projects

Indian Oil said on Sunday that it secured nearly 33 per cent of the potential demand in the recently concluded round of the city gas distribution (CGD) bidding by the Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB). The energy major bagged nine out of the 15 high potential geographical areas (GA). Indian Oil plans to to invest over Rs 7,000 crore in these new CGD projects, over and above the Rs 20,000 crore already marked for the vertical, it stated. 

The recently acquired GAs include major districts such as Jammu, Pathankot, Sikar, Jalgaon, Guntur (Amravati), Tuticorin, Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari, Madurai, Dharmapuri and Haldia (East Mednipore) that contain high demand customers for piped natural gas (PNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG). 

The oil major said that during the bidding the nearest competing bidder was left with less than 20 per cent of the demand potential in the bidding round. With the win, Indian Oil and its associates will service almost 28 per cent of the combined CGD potential in the three rounds so far – substantially ahead of the next major player. 

"IndianOil has a proud legacy of always aligning its growth agenda with the national priorities. And our concerted efforts to expand the Gas business across the length and breadth of the country reflects our commitment to realise the Government's vision of raising the share of Natural Gas to 15%. Gas will play a significant role in India’s march towards a low carbon future as part of its Panchamrit pledge during COP-26 summit to reduce total carbon emissions by one billion tonnes from now till 2030,” said Chairman IndianOil Mr Shrikant Madhav Vaidya.

The energy major said that after the latest round, Indian Oil along with its 2 JV companies is now present in 49 GAs and 105 districts across 21 states and UTs. When it comes to a standalone basis, Indian Oil will now be present in 26 GAs and 68 districts across 11 states and UTs covering nearly 20 per cent of the total CGD market potential.

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