Indian Oil : Union Petroleum Minister inaugurates 56 CNG stations across 13 States and one UT Daily CNG filling capacity to go up by over 50,000 vehicles

Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Hon'ble Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel, formally inaugurated 56 CNG stations spread across 13 States and a Union Territory over a video link here today. With the addition of these stations to India's CNG retail network, the daily filling capacity of the environment-friendly fuel in the country is expected to go up by over 50,000 vehicles.

The newly commissioned CNG stations are spread across Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chandigarh (UT), Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal. They belong to different public and private city gas distribution (CGD) entities - Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., Adani Gas Ltd., Bharat Gas Resource Ltd, GAIL (India) Ltd., Godavari Gas Ltd., Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd., HP-Oil Gas Pvt. Ltd., IndianOil-Adani Gas Pvt. Ltd., Indraprastha Gas Ltd., Maharashtra Gas Ltd., Sabarmati Gas Ltd., Think Gas Bhopal Pvt. Ltd., Think Gas Ludhiana Pvt. Ltd. and Vadodara Gas Ltd.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that in the last 6 years, the number of CNG stations has gone up from 947 to over 2300. He said that India is moving towards becoming a gas-based economy and the government is committed to provide infrastructure to facilitate this. Shri Pradhan said that the Government with the spirit of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas has worked to usher in a blue flame revolution in the country.

The Minister also appealed to the entrepreneurs to take advantage of policy reforms, compete and bring in innovation in fuel marketing which will be beneficial for the consumers.

Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Tarun Kapoor, speaking on the occasion, said that the government is fully committed to the ushering of gas-based economy in the country. He called upon the vehicle manufacturers to promote the factory fitted CNG vehicles, and reduce fitting the external kits for the same, so that our transport sector can use more CNG.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri S M Vaidya, Chairman IndianOil, highlighted IndianOil's focus on realizing the honorable Prime Minister's vision of increasing the share of natural gas in the primary energy mix of India from 6.2% at present to 15% by 2030. He shared that PNG and CNG are not restricted merely to the urban areas and are gradually becoming accessible for most Indians.

It may be noted that the 9^th CGD bidding round which concluded in 2018 was India's largest ever for as many 86 Geographical Areas (GA) covering 174 districts. The 10^th CGD bidding round for 50 GAs covering 124 districts elicited similar interest from investors. Both the rounds together attracted an investment of over Rs. 90,000 crore and cover more than 50% of the country's area and over 70% of the population. These developments in India's CGD space have received a positive response from the industry as well as consumers.

Large-scale development of CGD networks envisaged in India is in line with the country's vision of achieving most of the COP-21 climate change goals set for the year 2030. The growth of the CGD sector is in turn expected to create a strong demand for piped natural gas (PNG) meters, PNG regulators, CNG compressors, CNG dispensers and CNG cascades in the coming years. Assured supplies of gas from the CGD sector will provide a strong incentive to increase domestic manufacturing and promote the objectives of Atmanirbhar Bharat, generating huge numbers of employment, especially in Tier-II and Tier-III cities.

John Prasad K.
Chief General Manager
Corporate Communications
Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.