11A CGD bid round: PNGRB issues LoIs to BPCL, HPCL for 2 GAs, GAIL Gas for 1 GA

• Indraprastha Gas Limited, Indian Oil , Torrent Gas Private Limited and a consortium of THINK Gas Distribution Private Limited and others had also put in bids
• BPCL won the licence for GAs in UP and Chhattisgarh
• HPCL bagged the CGD licence for GAs spread across Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal

New Delhi: Oil PSUs Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) have bagged City Gas Distribution (CGD) licences for two geographical areas (GAs) each, while GAIL Gas Ltd has secured one area in the latest bid round conducted by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB). The PNGRB has also issued Letters of Intent (LoI) to the winners on Wednesday. 

"The technical bids of 5 GAs with last date of bid submission as 06.04.2022 were opened on 08.04.2022, wherein 21 bids were received from the following 7 bidders," said PNGRB on Wednesday. Apart from the three oil and gas PSUs, Indraprastha Gas Limited, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Torrent Gas Private Limited and a consortium of THINK Gas Distribution Private Limited and others had also put in bids.

The regulatory watchdog had offered five GAs spread over 27 districts in five states in the 11A CGD bid round.

11A CGD bid round: BPCL, HPCL bag GAs in UP, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand

According to the notification released by the PNGRB, BPCL won the licence for GA comprising districts such as Lakhimpur Kheri, Sitapur and Mahrajganj in Uttar Pradesh (UP) and another for Koriya, Surajpur, Balrampur and Surguja districts in Chhattisgarh. HPCL, on the other hand, has won the CGD licence for a GA comprising of Banka in Bihar, and Dumka, Godda, Jamtara, Pakur and Sahibganj districts in Jharkhand. And it has also bagged a licence for GA comprising of Birbhum, Murshidabad, Malda and Dakshin Dinajpur districts of West Bengal.

GAIL Gas Ltd has won the license for the Kodagan, Bastar, Sukma, Bijapur and Dantewada districts in Chhattisgarh. "Letter(s) of Intent to successful bidders for the 5 GAs has been issued on April 27, 2022," the PNGRB notification said.

The sixth GA of Yanam in Puducherry was added to the bid round later and bids for this area are due on May 10.

"After this bid round, about 88 per cent of the country's area would be authorised for the development of city gas distribution (CGD) network to provide access to natural gas to approximately 98 per cent of the population," the PNGRB said.

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