Hyderabad, August 05: Amidst fears of losing the State’s share of natural gas extracted from the Krishna-Godavari- D6 (KG-D6) basin, the Government of Andhra Pradesh (GoAP) on Tuesday said it is currently receiving sufficient gas supply from the eastern offshore fields, but has decided to demand a major share of gas during the second phase of production.
It also stated that gas would ‘‘not be allowed’’ to be supplied outside AP without meeting the State’s requirements.
Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, who reviewed the status of gas supply, asked officials to prepare a detailed plan of the proposed Rs 3,500-crore gas pipeline network for supply of gas to the State capital by Sept 1.
It is expected that the pipeline would go onstream in the next three-four years.
GoAP has floated a special purpose vehicle — Krishna-Godavari Gas Network Limited (KGGNL) — in which Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) will hold a 67 per cent stake. RIL is expected to sign an agreement in the next 10 days.
The Infrastructure Corporation of AP, representing GoAP, Gujarat State Petronet Corporation (GSPC) and Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation (IDFC) will each hold 11 per cent in KGGNL.
Based on New Delhi’s experience, where piped gas is being supplied, the officials estimate that Hyderabad will require about 1.5 MCMD gas. This apart, the government is also planning to ensure adequate supply of gas to the proposed 2,100 MW gas-based power project at Karimnagar.
RIL started gas production on March 28 and is currently extracting 40 MCMD (million cubic metres per day). In accordance with the Gas Utilisation Policy, the Empowered Group of Ministers allotted 7.7 MCMD gas to AP, while the remaining is being supplied to Gujarat and Maharashtra besides some other firms. However, AP is currently receiving 10 MCMD to meet its daily requirements for power generation and also meet the needs of fertiliser companies.
‘‘The additional 2.3 MCMD is being supplied following the Union Government’s orders to supply excess gas to AP in case the produced gas is under-utilised by the designated companies or States,’’ said Somayajulu, Advisor, GoAP. He added that though only 31 MCMD gas is currently produced as against the proposed 40 MCMD limit, the government is able to operate all its gasbased power generation units producing 2,800 MW and units run by companies such as Nagarjuna Fertilisers are now fully operational, thanks to requisite gas supply.
GoAP is also expecting additional supply of gas when RIL commences full-fledged production at KG-D6 basin.
–Agencies–