Gas supply is major problem for proposed new plant
Everyone present at the meeting had one major concern: supply of gas.
TNEB chairman K Skandan made the lucid remark that even a 100-MW power plant in Tamil Nadu could not get its full allocation of gas and that it would be all the more difficult for a 3000-MW plant to get regular supplies. APGENCO managing director Jain said that even though four Independent Power Projects in Andhra Pradesh are under construction the source of gas to supply them is still uncertain.
On hearing this Shahi asked GAIL general manager marketing MM Mandal how much and by when GAIL could supply gas to the proposed project. Mandal replied that ONGC, from where GAIL sources most of its gas, gave no indication of gas availability for the project.
Against an allocation of 17.7m cm/d only 6.95m cm/d is presently being supplied, he said. Commitment of gas to the new project will be made on the basis of ONGCs projections.
Mandal suggested that ONGCs G-1 structure in the Krishna Godavari basin could be tapped as a new source of gas. ONGC is developing this field which can supply 2.3m cm/d and which will be available from 2006-07.
He said gas might also be available in the 11th Plan period from the Ravva and Annapurna fields offshore Andhra Pradesh developed by Cairn Energy and ONGC. Mandal later contradicted himself by revealing that these sources of gas were already booked to meet existing demand from new IPPs in AP.
Shahi then asked Reliance representative RP Sharma when his company could supply gas from its KG field Sharma said gas would be available from mid-2008. Shahi asked Sharma and other Reliance officials to begin gas supplies from 2007-8 and not mid-2008.
Alternatively, suggested Shahi, gas could be sourced through a competitive tender similar to NTPCs tender for Kawas and Gandhar.