Reliance told to allocate 5.67 mmscmd of KG D6 gas to Ratnagiri power company

The empowered group of ministers (EGoM) has decided to allocate 5.67 mmscmd of natural gas from the Reliance Industry-operated KG D-6 gas block on the eastern offshore to Ratnagiri Gas and Power Private Limited (RGPPL), on a firm basis.

The EgoM, which met on 27 October 2009 to decide on issues pertaining to commercial utilisation of gas produced under NELP, said the decision has been made in view of the actual requirement of the Ratnagiri Gas and Power Private Limited (RGPPL).

In fact, the government has asked Reliance Industries to supply 60 per cent of the additional output from KG D-6 block this year to power plants, including state-run NTPC Ltd.

Any additional requirement of RGPPL arising at a later stage could be considered subsequently, EGoM said.

The EGoM said gas from KG D-6 should be supplied on a firm basis to all the existing gas-based power plants connected to KG D-6 (excluding RGPPL and NTPC's plants in Kawas and Gandhar) so as to enable the plants within Andhra Pradesh to operate at 75 per cent plant load factor (PLF) and those outside Andhra Pradesh to operate at 70 per cent PLF. 

Also, EGoM said, 2.71 mmscmd of administered price mechanism (APM) gas from the Panna-Mukta-Tapti (PMT) field should be diverted from NTPC's plants in the northern part of the country to its Kawas and Gandhar power plants, and an additional quantity of 2.71 mmscmd of gas from the Reliance-operated KG D-6 gas block on the Krishna-Godavari basin on the eastern offshore should be supplied on a firm basis to NTPC's plants in the northern parts of the country.