The Hindu Business Line : GAIL urges gas producers to hike supply

, FACED with the wrath of consumers in the power sector over the shortfall in availability of gas, GAIL (India) Ltd has urged the producers to increase supply.

The current availability of gas supply to existing customers is 7 million standard cubic meters per day (MMSCMD) against an official allocation of 9.4 MMSCMD to them.

GAIL has taken up the issue with Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) and other gas producers.

The power producers in Andhra Pradesh have complained that the flawed supply of gas has had an adverse impact on investments in the sector.

At present, GAIL is operating around 750 km of pipeline in K-G Basin area supplying around 7.2 MMSCMD of natural gas to 32 customers, including power and fertiliser plants.

With new gas finds by Reliance Industries, ONGC, Cairn, there would be additional gas availability, which is however, subject to these consumers paying to respective producers' market related price and agreement for gas supply, sources said.

In fact, to connect with the new independent power plants (IPPs) like GVK Industries' expansion in Gautami, Vemagiri and Konaseema (in Andhra Pradesh), GAIL is laying new branch pipelines. GAIL expects to complete these pipelines between July 2005 and the third quarter of 2006, in keeping pace with the commissioning of these new IPPs.

Further, GAIL would be laying parallel line between K-Cherruvu to Kakinada Junction point to strengthen the existing gas flow for fertiliser and power plant along Tatipaka-Kakinada pipeline.

"With completion of all these branch pipeline and parallel line, GAIL integrated gas system would be able to supply to all the allocated customers to their full requirement, subject to availability of gas," the official said, adding, "all the source points could be connected to the existing users which will help meet their gas demand, presently not met from existing gas source."

"We are only a catalyst for delivering gas to the consumers. The gas allocation is done through the Gas Linkages Committee (GLC), an inter-ministerial group," sources said. GAIL pipeline system is available on non-discriminatory basis for transporting the gas from all available sources, he reiterated.

The GLC, based on availability projections from gas producers and diversity demand, makes the allocation. While allocating the 9.4 MMSCMD of gas, the GLC had clearly stated that the gas and power producers should have dual fuel facility and not depend on natural gas alone.

The upcoming IPPs were also informed about it, sources said. In the absence of any additional availability of gas as per GLC allocation, a decision had been taken by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas that the available gas would be supplied on proportionate basis to the consumers including upcoming IPPs.

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