The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) stayed on the path suggested by the Petroleum Ministry of maintaining top priority in natural gas allocation for the fertiliser sector, followed by LPG, power and city gas distribution.
It also agreed with the recommendations that pre-NELP gas, sold under administered pricing mechanism, would be kept out of this pecking order. The Power Ministry was pushing for this gas to be diverted from non-priority sectors such as petrochemical plants.
“There is very little gas available (for diversion) in the first place... EGoM decided that things better be left as it is,” Oil Minister S Jaipal Reddy told reporters after the 70-minute meeting.
Power sector had been lobbying for diversion of the APM gas in view of a sharp dip in output from Reliance Industries' KG-D6 gas fields to about 35 million standard cubic meters per day from 61.5 MSCMD achieved in March 2010.
Reddy said the EGoM took note of the fall in output from KG-D6 but did not discuss price changes or pooling of rates as they were not on agenda.
The EGoM felt there was only 3.84 MSCMD of APM gas from state-owned ONGC's fields that currently goes to non-priority sector. Of this, only 1.92 MSCDM could be diverted as users of the rest cannot be switched due to reasons like low pressure.
Most of this gas is dedicated for priority sectors of fertiliser and power and there was 5.23 MSCMD that goes to CGD companies. The EGoM felt that CGD was also a priority sector as without APM gas, which is priced at one fourth the price of imported gas, prices of CNG and piped cooking gas would spiral.
In fertiliser, gas allocations will be made only to urea plants and fuel supply to phosphates and potassium producers would be ‘suspended’ not stopped, Reddy said.
APM gas and KG-D6 gas are currently sold at $4.2 per million British thermal unit.
It also agreed with the recommendations that pre-NELP gas, sold under administered pricing mechanism, would be kept out of this pecking order. The Power Ministry was pushing for this gas to be diverted from non-priority sectors such as petrochemical plants.
“There is very little gas available (for diversion) in the first place... EGoM decided that things better be left as it is,” Oil Minister S Jaipal Reddy told reporters after the 70-minute meeting.
Power sector had been lobbying for diversion of the APM gas in view of a sharp dip in output from Reliance Industries' KG-D6 gas fields to about 35 million standard cubic meters per day from 61.5 MSCMD achieved in March 2010.
Reddy said the EGoM took note of the fall in output from KG-D6 but did not discuss price changes or pooling of rates as they were not on agenda.
The EGoM felt there was only 3.84 MSCMD of APM gas from state-owned ONGC's fields that currently goes to non-priority sector. Of this, only 1.92 MSCDM could be diverted as users of the rest cannot be switched due to reasons like low pressure.
Most of this gas is dedicated for priority sectors of fertiliser and power and there was 5.23 MSCMD that goes to CGD companies. The EGoM felt that CGD was also a priority sector as without APM gas, which is priced at one fourth the price of imported gas, prices of CNG and piped cooking gas would spiral.
In fertiliser, gas allocations will be made only to urea plants and fuel supply to phosphates and potassium producers would be ‘suspended’ not stopped, Reddy said.
APM gas and KG-D6 gas are currently sold at $4.2 per million British thermal unit.
No comments:
Post a Comment