ONGC seeks minimum USD17 price for gas from Bokaro CBM block

• ONGC has invited bids for the sale of 0.20 million metric standard cubic metres per day (MMSCMD) of gas
• ONGC said the gas will be available for sale from December 15

New Delhi: State-run ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation) has sought a minimum price of USD 17 per mmBtu for the gas it plans to produce from coal seams in its Bokaro CBM block in Jharkhand. ONGC has invited bids for the sale of 0.20 million metric standard cubic metres per day (MMSCMD) of gas it plans to produce from the Bokaro CBM block by the year-end, according to a tender document. It has sought bids on a formula indexed to the prevailing Brent crude oil price.

The reserve or floor price of gas will be 14 percent of the Dated Brent crude oil Price plus USD 1 per million British thermal unit, ONGC has said in the tender.

ONGC: Bidders need to quote premium over reserve price

Bidders will have to quote a premium they are willing to offer over this reserve price. The floor price will be the government-mandated price for domestic natural gas plus a USD 1 per mmBtu mark-up. The "Contract Gas price shall be the higher of the 14 percent of Dated Brent Price plus USD 1 per mmBtu plus 'P' (the biddable parameter); or the floor price," ONGC has said.

At the current Brent crude oil price of USD 115 per barrel, the reserve gas price comes to USD 17 per mmBtu.

Domestic gas pricing

The government-mandated price of domestic gas is currently USD 6.1 per mmBtu. The price sought by ONGC is in line with recent industry trends.

In March, Reliance Industries Ltd sold coal-bed methane (CBM) gas from a Madhya Pradesh block for over USD 23 per mmBtu to firms, including GAIL, GSPC and Shell. Reliance sold 0.65 MMSCMD of gas from its coal-bed methane (CBM) block SP-(West)-CBM-2001/1 at a USD 8.28 premium over the prevailing Brent crude oil prices. The firm had sought bids at a premium over the base of 13.2 percent of Brent crude oil prices.

At the current Brent crude oil price of USD 115 per barrel, the base comes to USD 15.18 per mmBtu, and adding USD 8.28 premium bid by state-owned gas utility GAIL and other firms, the final price comes to USD 23.46 per mmBtu.

While the government fixes the price of natural gas produced from conventional fields every six months, the pricing of gas from coal seams, called CBM, is free or market-determined.

Gas from ONGC CBM block to be available for sale from Dec 15

ONGC said the gas will be available for sale from December 15. "The gas will be offered for a fixed term of 1 year," said the tender document. ONGC holds an 80 percent stake in the Bokaro coal-bed methane (CBM) block, while the remaining 20 percent is with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).

State gas utility GAIL (India) Ltd will provide pipeline connectivity for the gas to be transported to users. E-auction will be held on July 20.

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