Great Eastern Energy Corporation Ltd (GEECL) claimed on Monday that the order of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) will not impact the company's CBM operations.

On March 18, the PNGRB declared the company's 53-km-long gas pipeline, catering to the consumers in the Asansol-Durgapur industrial region, as “unauthorised and illegal”.

In a press statement issued on Monday, GEECL claimed that the company was of the firm view that its “dedicated pipeline” was developed well within the purview of laws and guidelines laid down under the production sharing contract (PSC) signed with Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

“We are appealing against the PNGRB order,” Mr Prashant Modi, President and Chief Operating Officer, GEECL, said. “We are bound by the PSC, which clearly states that the company has the freedom and right to explore, develop, produce and market CBM gas in India and develop the necessary infrastructure to deliver the CBM to its customers”, he added.

According to the release, “GEECL was permitted by the High Court to continue without restraint.”