(T.E.T)
Indian Oil Corp has bagged city gas licenses for 9 out of the 15 high-potential geographical areas (GAs) in the latest bidding round and plans to invest Rs 7,000 crore in developing infrastructure in these areas, the company said in a statement.
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) had sought bids for 65 GAs in the XIth bidding round. It received more than 430 bids, including Indian Oil’s 53 bids, the highest by any party. Adani NSE 0.29 %, Think Gas, and HPCL NSE 1.05 % were other big bidders. PNGRB hasn’t yet put up the names of the winners on its website.
India Oil said the licenses it has won comprise 33% of the demand potential of all GAs offered in the XIth round. The demand potential varies from one license area to another based on the population and economic profile and companies compete aggressively in areas with more vehicles and industries.
“With our intelligently aggressive approach in the latest city gas distribution (CGD) bidding process, we have been able to secure nine high market potential GAs that cover 26 districts,” said Indian Oil Chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya. “And with this, Indian Oil is poised to emerge as a dominant player in Indian CGD Market.”
Indian Oil said its nearest competitor won licenses with less than 20% demand potential in the latest bidding round. It didn’t name the competitor.
Indian Oil has won licenses for Jammu, Pathankot, Sikar, Jalgaon, Guntur (Amravati), Tuticorin, Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari, Madurai, Dharmapuri and Haldia (East Mednipore).
After the 11th round, Indian Oil along with its 2 joint venture companies is now present in 49 GAs, covering 105 districts. They would service almost 28% of the combined city gas potential in the last three bidding rounds, far ahead of the closest competitor, Indian Oil said.
On a standalone basis, Indian Oil will now have a presence in 26 GAs spread over 68 districts.
