(PTI)
The government on Monday cut domestic natural gas price for the first time in two-and-a-half years but rates for gas produced from difficult fields such as Reliance Industries’ under-development fields in KG-D6 block are still at almost the same level as the one fixed during the Congress-led UPA regime.
The price of most of the natural gas produced by state-owned ONGC and Oil India Ltd, which account for bulk of India’s existing gas output, was cut to USD 3.23 per million British thermal unit for the six-month period beginning October 1, from USD 3.69 as of now, according to the oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC). This is the first reduction in rate since April 1, 2017.
Simultaneously, the government cut the price of gas produced from difficult fields to USD 8.43 from USD 9.32, the PPAC notification said. Prices of natural gas, which is used to produce fertiliser and generate electricity and is also converted into CNG for use in automobiles as fuel and cooking gas for households, are set every six months — on April 1 and October 1 each year.
