ONGC demands $ 2.5mbtu for its gas

New Delhi, Sept 19: State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) today demanded a price of 2.5 dollar per mbtu for gas produced under Administered Price Mechanism (APM).

Currently the company is getting 1.97 dollar mbtu for its state- controlled gas with the tariff commission recommending a price of Rs 3,600 per standard cubic metres (SCM), while ONGC has pegged its demand at Rs 4,500 for its APM gas.

The entire gas produced under APM is by government-owned companies, ONGC and Oil India Ltd (OIL).

Of the 53 mscmd of APM gas produced in the country, around 48 mscmd is produced by ONGC and five mscmd by OIL from the fields nominated to them by the government. ONGC suffered losses of Rs600 crore in 2006-07 in its gas business.

''We will gain 20 billion rupees on administered price mechanism gas sales if our price is accepted," ONGC Chairman and Managing Director R S Sharma said at press conference.

UNI