More gas for factories in Uran as GAIL hikes supply
Fertiliser and power companies in and around the industrial town of Uran near Mumbai will soon have reason to cheer.
GAIL is at last responding to repeated pleas from customers in this area for more gas and has drawn up a special action plan to hike supplies. Deepak Fertilisers, Tata Power, Maharashtra State Electricity Board, Ispat Industries and Vikram Ispat will all benefit.
The average availability in Uran in 2004 was about 10.2m cm/d, GAILs general manager (marketing) MM Mandal told the oil ministry last month. In one case, Mandal said GAIL would supply a minimum of 500,000 cm/d to Deepak Fertilisers, the companys oldest customer since 1983.
They do not have any arrangement to use naphtha, said Mandal. Their request of 500,000 cm/d of gas as minimum operational requirement may be considered because they are in the fertiliser sector.
Mandal told the ministry that GAIL wants to maintain supplies to the power and fertiliser sector at 70% of their firm allocation in line with guidelines issued by the Supreme Court on 5th April 2002. Supplies to RCF Thal and RCF Trombay need to be accordingly adjusted, said Mandal.
GAIL will also supply 70% of its committed allocation to MSEB and Tata Power. Tata Power operates a 1350-MW power plant in Trombay and regularly complains about inadequate gas supplies.
The Supreme Court order also puts Mahanagar Gas on GAILs priority list. See below: Figures in Million Cubic Metres per day (m cm/d) Consumer Firm Allocation Fallback New Allocation Current Allocation RCF Thal 3.0 0.6 3.0 2.113 HWP 0.15 0.15 0.15 Ispat Industries 1.3 1.3 0.76 Vikram Ispat 0.75 0.15 0.75 0.45 H&R Johnson 0.0 0.04 0.04 0.02 IPCL 0.6 0.6 0.34 LPG Usar 0.4 0.2 0.2 Trombay RCF Trombay 1.8 1.8 1.26 BPCL 0.15 0.15 0.08 HPCL 0.05 0.05 0.02 Tata Power 1.5 1.5 0.90 MGL-Industrial 1.5 0.3 0.85 MGL-CNG+PNG 1.2 URAN 3.5 MSEB 0.6 3.5 2.61 Deepak Fertiliser 0.01 0.60 0.42 HCL 15.4 0.79 0.01 0.006 Total Uran: 15.19 10.20
