IOC to invest Rs 7,000 crore to setup city gas distribution networks

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the nation's largest oil firm, said it will invest over Rs 7,000 crore in setting up city gas distribution networks in the cities for which it has secured a licence in the latest bidding round.

IOC secured 33 per cent of the demand potential that was up for grabs in the recently concluded 11th round of CGD bidding, cornering cities from Jammu to Madurai to Haldia, the firm said.

Of the 61 geographical areas or GAs that received bids in the 11th round city gas distribution (CGD) bidding, IOC got 9 licenses to retail CNG to automobiles and piped cooking gas to households. Though the GAs it won were less than Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd's 15 licences and Adani Total Gas Ltd's 14, in the terms of demand potential it got the maximum.

"The nearest competing bidder was left with less than 20 per cent of the demand potential in the bidding round in which IOC bagged 9 out of the 15 high potential GAs," the firm said in a statement.

"With this substantial win in the 11th bidding round, IOC and its associates would service almost 28 per cent of the combined CGD potential in the 3 rounds of bidding till now, which is far ahead of the next major player."

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) last week opened the bids and decided on preliminary winners.

IOC's acquired GAs include major districts like Jammu, Pathankot, Sikar, Jalgaon, Guntur (Amravati), Tuticorin, Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari, Madurai, Dharmapuri and Haldia (East Midnapore).

These districts contain high demand customers across the industry-commercial-domestic spectrum for PNG (Piped Natural Gas) and CNG (Compressed Natural Gas).