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The demerger of Ratnagiri Gas and Power Private Limited power plant and LNG terminal is likely to be completed by the end of this month, according to GAIL Chairman and Managing Director BC Tripathi. He was speaking to journalists on the sidelines of GAIL’s Annual General Meeting with company shareholders.
There will be a share swap where NTPC will hold 75 per cent stake in the power plant while GAIL will hold 75 per cent in the LNG terminal. The LNG terminal and the Power plant will be hived into separate entities after the demerger.
Both GAIL and NTPC hold 25.51 per cent stake each in Ratnagiri Gas and Power that owns and operates the Dabhol Liquefied Natural Gas terminal and Power Plant. Maharashtra State Electricity Board holds 13.51 per cent stake while financial institutions own the remaining 35.47 per cent share.
Tripathi also said that the country’s demand for natural gas will rise substantially during 2018-2020. Speaking at the company’s AGM, Tripathi said, “Next wave of real increment in gas off take by the sector is expected once the newer capacities of fertilizer production get progressively commissioned during 2018 to 2020.”
“In the bulk sales/institutional segments, fertilizer sector is moving towards a new normal due to on-going capacity addition,” he added.
Tripathy said that there is huge potential for use of gas in power generation, captive and distributed (through thermal and fuel cell technology) that remains untapped due to structural issues which need early resolution in the power sector.
“As a cleaner fossil fuel, natural gas offers tremendous advantages for complementing renewable energy technologies including natural gas based fuel cells,” he added.
Tripathi said that the City Gas Distribution project at Varanasi is targeted for commissioning during the current year, ahead of schedule by at least 12 months. At the same time the Bhubaneswar CGD project is also under progress to commence city gas services during this year. The CGD project activity is also progressing as per schedule in other five authorised cities of Eastern India for being commissioned in synchronous with Jagadishpur-Haldia-Bokaro-Dhamra (JHBDPL) pipeline project.
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