West Bengal Government-owned Greater Calcutta Gas Supply Company (GCGSC) has approached the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) for transfer of city gas distribution rights to its JV with GAIL India and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL).
According to S.K. Saha, regional head of GAIL, the proposal is expected to be up for review by the downstream regulator, end of this month.
“We request the West Bengal government to kindly do their best to help the JV get the due authorisation,” Saha appealed the State Commerce and Industries Minister Partha Chatterjee during a conference organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday.
In September 2011, GAIL, Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) and the GCGSC entered into a three-way joint venture for supply of distribution of coal bed methane to be produced in the Assansol-Ranigunj fields.
GCGSC currently supplies piped coal gas manufactured by Coal India at its Dankuni facility to subscribers in Kolkata and Howrah. The company is its post-Independence avatar of Oriental Gas Company and has an extensive pipeline network in the city.
Since coal gas is a synthetic gas, GCGSC did not require a fresh authorization from PNGRB as city gas distributor.