Cannot commit gas supply to either Reliance Natural Resources or state-run NTPC: Petroleum ministry tells Empowered Group of Ministers

The petroleum ministry is telling the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) that as of now it cannot commit gas supply to either Anil Ambani’s Reliance Natural Resources Ltd or state-run National Thermal Corporation Ltd — the two firms vying for gas from Reliance Industries Ltd’s D6 field. 

 The inability to assure gas to both and some other firms stems from insufficient gas from D6 as well as EGoM decisions of January and October 2009 allowing gas link for proposed plants “as and when they are ready to commence production”. 

 Based on RIL’s input, the EGoM is being told that gas from D6 field would not cross the current 60 million standard cubic metres per day “in the near future”. This volume is more than committed to consumers with 61.61 MSCMD on firm basis and another 30 as fallback or unutilised gas. 

 “It is proposed that petroleum ministry should indicate gas availability in the coming years to fertiliser and power Ministries and invite proposals for commercial utilisation of gas from them. Subsequently, appropriate proposals for gas utilisation from the next financial year would be put up by the petroleum ministry before the EGoM for decision,” says the agenda for Wednesday’s EGoM meeting. The ministry is instead proposing that D6 supply to ONGC for LPG extraction be cancelled as ONGC would have its own gas from C-Series and Bandra formation. It also wants that fuel to Pragati Power Plant at Bawana be scrapped as the plant was delayed to next fiscal 2011-12.