NTPC may offer stake to Qatar Petro in Kerala plant RGCCPP

Keen to get gas for its plant, state-run NTPC may offer equity stake to Qatar Petroleum in its gas-based projects, a move that would allow the company an assured supply of fuel for operations.

"We have offered them (Qatar government) that we can provide them equity stake in gas-based projects and bring in the fuel," a senior NTPC official said. NTPC is keen to get Qatar in Kayamkulum project, as the Gulf nation would in return bring gas for the plant.Qatar Petroleum may pick up stake in NTPC's power projects at Kayamkulam in Kerala and Ratnagiri Gas and Power Private Ltd.

With uncertainty over gas from Reliance Industries' KG Basin, the deal with Qatar Petroleum would give some stability to India's largest power producer.NTPC also has embarked upon a plan to become 75,000 MW company by 2017 and to achieve the target the company needs to have assured supply of fuel, be it gas or coal.The company generates about 4,000 MW of electricity from its seven gas-based plants over and above the 1,940 MW Ratanagiri plant in joint venture with GAIL and Maharashtra State Electricity Board.

NTPC is mulling a mega expansion plans of 6,000 MW for its functional gas-based stations at Kawas and Gandhar (Gujarat), Auraiya and Dadri in Uttar Pradesh and Kayamkulam in Kerala. For the capacity addition of this magnitude, the company requires 30 million standard cubic metres of gas per day (mmscmd). One MMSCMD is needed for firing a 200 MW gas-based power project.

At present NTPC has seven gas-based stations in -- 413 MW Anta (Rajasthan), 652 MW Auraiya (Uttar Pradesh), 645 MW Kawas (Gujarat), 817 MW Dadri (Uttar Pradesh), 648 MW Jhanor?Gandhar (Gujarat), 430 MW Faridabad (Haryana) and 350 MW Rajiv Gandhi combined cycle power project at Kayamkulam.   The company's current fuel requirement is 17 MMSCMD which is likely to rise with increase in the capacity to over 10,000 MW in the next five years.