Gas pricing Committee to meet on July 5

New Delhi, July 3 (UNI) The Committee of Secretaries (CoS) will meet on Thursday to give its views on fertiliser and power ministries' demand of regulated pricing.

The committee had asked the power and fertiliser ministeries to give their comments on the issue of gas pricing from Reliance D6 fields in the Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin.

The CoS was constituted after the power and fertiliser ministries cried foul over Reliance Industries determining a sale price of 4.33 dollars per mBtu for the fuel it plans to produce from its KG-D6 block.

Though this price was lower than the average price of 4.57 dollars per mBtu being charged for 20.4 million standard cubic meters per day of gas sold by other privately operated fields, the two ministries demanded regulated pricing.

The Government said it has no role in fixing the prices of natural gas produced from areas auctioned under NELP and only approves the pricing formula.

On May 23, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) had conveyed that the fertiliser sector should get priority in natural gas allocation and power sector should be encouraged to rely more on coal for new capacities.

Accordingly, Petroleum Ministry said the domestic gas production will increase from 80.54 million standard cubic metres per day in 2007-08 to 119.98 mmscmd in 2008-09.

As Reliance Industries, GSPC and ONGC begin production from KG fields, an additional supplies of 74 mmscmd will be added in 2009-10, 84 mmscmd in 2010-11 and 94 mmscmd in 2011-12.

UNI