Nine Gujarat cities in 9th round of CGD bidding

Nine Gujarat districts are among the 86 Geographical Areas (Gas) identified by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) for the 9th Round of the City Gas Distribution (CGD) Bidding. The list of 86 Gas includes 156 complete districts and 18 part districts.

Dangs, Junagadh, Mahisagar, Narmada, Porbandar and Gir Somnath are the complete districts which appear in the PNGRB list for the CGD bidding. Parts of Morbi, Botad, and Navsari also figure in the latest list, and so does the union territory of Diu, which has been clubbed with Gir Somnath. Industry experts said that these Geographical Areas are unlikely to enthuse many CGD companies because of limited potential.

Parts of Morbi and Navsari, where there is good demand for gas, are already covered. The potential is low in Dangs, which is a hilly area. Junagadh, Narmada and Gir Somnath have large forest areas, and very challenging, while Dasada and Dhrangadhra, which are part of Morbi GA, are desert areas. The response is unlikely to be great when the bids are invited as the business prospects aren’t very bright,” an industry expert said.

The expert said that this is probably the reason why the regulator has clubbed different districts to form one Geographical Area.

Gujarat is home to an extensive gas grid, and vast CGD network covering almost all the remaining districts. Gujarat Gas is the biggest CGD in terms of volumes and reach, followed by Adani Gas, which has a presence in Ahmedabad and Vadodara.

GUJ ON TOP

Gujarat is the largest consumer of natural gas in the country accounting for more than 45% of the total 32.79 lakh Piped Natural Gas connections at the end of 2016, and more than 25% of 1,100 CNG stations.