Indian Oil told to stop supply of LNG in city gas licensee area

Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) recently ordered IndianOil to stop supplying gas to Knauf India and Honda Motorcycle & Scooters India, the customers with requirements of up to 50,000 standard cubic meters a day (SCMD) in the city gas licensed area of Chittor, Kolar and Vellore districts in south India. This followed a complaint by AGP, the licensee.

The regulator has barred Indian Oil from supplying liquefied natural gas (LNG) to small customers in an area licensed to another city gas distributor, AGP City Gas Pvt Ltd, in a significant ruling with ramifications for third-party supply to customers. In another ruling, the regulator upheld the right of a consumer in Gujarat to source gas from a third-party using its old pipeline, rejecting the city gas licensee’s claim of exclusive rights to supply.

Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) recently ordered IndianOil to stop supplying gas to Knauf India and Honda Motorcycle & Scooters India, the customers with requirements of up to 50,000 standard cubic meters a day (SCMD) in the city gas licensed area of Chittor, Kolar and Vellore districts in south India. This followed a complaint by AGP, the licensee.

As per the rules, only city gas licensees have the right to serve customers with requirements of up to 50,000 SCMD. If the licensee doesn’t have the infrastructure in place or is unwilling to supply, the customer can source the gas from a third-party, but needs prior permission from the PNGRB for this. Neither Knauf nor Honda had taken PNGRB’s permission for sourcing gas from IndianOil, which became a key ground for the regulator to declare their LNG supply pacts as “illegal in the eyes of law.”

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/energy/oil-gas/indian-oil-told-to-stop-supply-of-lng-in-city-gas-licensee-area/articleshow/96552562.cms?from=mdr

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