Indian Oil, Adani among top bidders for city gas licenses

Indian Oil Corporation Limited and Ad Total Gas Limited, a joint venture of Ad Group and French firm Total, are among the top bidders to get licenses for retailing compressed natural gas (CNG) and piped cooking gas in different cities across the country.

According to data released by Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB), the government-run Indian Oil Corporation has made the bid for 53 out of 65 geographical areas while Ad Total Gas Limited has bid for 52 geographical areas.

PNGRB launched the 11th city gas distribution (CGD) bidding round on September 17, 2021, for 65 geographical areas (GAs) spread over 215 districts (212 complete and 3 part) in 19 States and one Union territory covering 26 per cent of India's population and 33 per cent of its area.

"This initiative would help in creating a robust CGD infrastructure and play a significant role in transforming to a gas-based economy. This would bring an investment of more than Rs. 80,000 crore and generate employment," Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board said in a statement.

Other major bidders include Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, GAIL Gas Limited, Torrent Gas Private Limited and Indraprastha Gas Limited.

In order to attract maximum number of bidders, PNGRB orgzed roadshows in India and abroad (Dubai) during November-December 2021. The last date of bid submission was December 15, 2021. This round attracted an overwhelming response from investors with more than 430 bids against 61 geographical areas with no Single Bid in these geographical areas, PNGRB said.

( With inputs from ANI )

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