English
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Gujarati
Hindi
Marathi
Persian
Union minister of petroleum and natural gas Dharmendra Pradhan said on Thursday that the government aims to have 10,000 retail outlets of compressed natural gas (CNG) in the next five years as the country plans to increase the share of gas in its energy basket. Pradhan was speaking at an online event where he inaugurated 56 new CNG retail outlets across 13 states and one Union Territory.
Among the retail outlets inaugurated, most (17) are owned by IndianOil-Adani Gas, a joint venture between Indian Oil (IOCL) and Adani Gas, followed by the ten outlets operated by Adani Gas. IOCL and Hindustan Petroleum will be running six CNG stations each.
The minister also said that the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) is preparing for the 11th round of bidding for city gas distribution (CGD) which will increase the penetration of the natural gas eco-system. Currently, about 75% of the CNG stations are concentrated in Delhi, Gujarat and Maharashtra. The total number of CNG outlets in the country now stands at 2,307.
As FE reported earlier, the regulator had proposed 44 new geographical areas for the upcoming CGD auctions, with most located in Tamil Nadu (eight), followed by Maharashtra (seven) and Madhya Pradesh (six). At present, the CGD network covers 232 geographical areas spread over 407 districts in 27 states. The present share of gas in the energy basket of the country is 6.2%, and the target is to take it to 15% by 2030.