The government onThursday raised price of natural gas by 62 per cent.
This gas is used to produce electricity. Also, it is used as fuel for producing fertilisers and as CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) to use as fuel in automobiles and cooking gas for household kitchens.
This is the first hike aft er April 2019. One rea-
son is rise in international prices. This increase
could lead to rise in CNG prices for automobile.
Though fuel cost for gas-based power plants will
also likely to go up, but since their share in overall
power generation is low, so consumer will not be
affected much. Petroleum Planning and Analysis
Cell (PPAC), unit of Oil Ministry, said the rates
paid for gas produced from fields given to Oil and
Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India
Ltd (OIL) will be $2.90 per million British thermal
unit (mmBtu). New price will be applicable the
six-month period beginning April 1.
Simultaneously, the price for gas produced from
difficult fields such as deep sea, which is based
on a different formula, was hiked to $6.13 per
mmBtu from the $3.62 per mmBtu. This is the
maximum price that Reliance Industries Ltd and
its partner BP plc are entitled to for the gas they
produce from deep sea blocks such as KG-D6.
