IOC, Adani, HPCL biggest bidders for city gas licences
NEWDELHI: State-owned Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) has emerged as the biggest bidder for city gas licences in the tenth bid round that also saw Adani Group, Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd (HPCL) and Indraprastha Gas Ltd as the other prominent bidders, according to oil regulator the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB).
IOC, the country’s top oil refiner and fuel marketing company that is looking to diversify into natural gas distribution business big time, bid for licences to retail CNG to automobiles and piped natural gas to households in 35 out of the 50 cities put on offer for the tenth round and another seven in partnership with Adani Gas.
Adani Gas bid for 19 cities on its own and seven in partnership with IOC, PNGRB said after opening of bids between February 7 and 9.
HPCL, a subsidiary of stateowned Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC), emerged as the third largest bidder, putting in bids for 24 towns and cities while Gujaratbased Torrent Gas applied for 20 areas.
Indraprastha Gas Ltd, which retails CNG and piped cooking gas in the national capital, put in bids for 15 areas while Bharat Gas Resources Ltd, a subsidiary of state-owned Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL), bid for 14 cities.
State-owned GAIL India Ltd, which is country’s biggest gas marketer and transporting company, put in bids for just 10 areas through its subsidiary GAIL Gas Ltd.
In the last bid round, it had managed to bag just five out of the 86 geographical areas (GAS) put on offer.
In the previous ninth round which was awarded just a few months back, Adani Gas had won city gas licences for 13 cities on its own and nine in a joint venture with IOC.
IOC had won licences for seven cities on its own. Bharat Gas Resources Ltd had walked away with 11 cities while Torrent Gas had made 10 winning bids.
Sholagasco Pvt. Ltd bid for nine out of the 50 GAS put on offer in the tenth round while Gujarat Gas bid for seven and Petronet LNG Ltd put in bids for five areas.
At the close of bidding on February 5, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board stated that about 225 bids were received for licence to retail CNG to automobiles and piped natural gas to households in 50 GAS offered in the tenth city gas distribution (CGD) bidding round.
It had not revealed the names of the bidders then.
Eight out of the 50 GAS received single bids, with IOC being the only applicant for six areas in Bihar and Jharkhand while other two single bidders were Bharat Gas Resources Ltd and GAIL Gas Ltd for one area each.
Together with past rounds, city gas distribution network would now extend to 400 districts, covering 70% of the population.