Power firms to get 40 pc of KG gas

New Delhi, April 9
The government today approved the allocation of 40 per cent of Reliance Industries Ltd's eastern offshore KG-D6 gas to the power sector.

An Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM), headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, allocated 18 million standard cubic metre per day of gas to the power sector, but the quantity to individual companies will be decided by the implementation committee, comprising officials of power and petroleum ministries.

Sources said the EGoM also decided to allocate all unutilised allocation of five mmscmd, meant for city gas projects, to power plants.

Earlier, 15.35 mmscmd gas from KG D-6 were allocated to fertiliser companies.

No official announcement was made, with the minister saying that because of the election code of conduct the decision would be kept under wraps.

None of the ministers attending the one-hour long meeting commented on the deliberations citing model code for elections.

At present, gas-based power plants are facing a deficit of about 36 million cubic meters per day.

The EGoM meeting had been necessitated with the beginning of 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.

The gas utilisation policy gives topmost priority to urea plants, after which up to 3 mmcmd gas is to be given to LPG extraction plants. Thereafter, 18 mmcmd gas would go to power firms and another 5 mmcmd to city gas projects for retailing CNG to automobiles and piped cooking gas to households. — PTI