The government on Friday announced a natural gas price of $ 7.92 per unit for the remainder of April according to the just approved new pricing formula, but rates for consumers have been capped at
$ 6.5 per unit.
According to an order of the Oil Ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell, the price of natural gas for April 8 to April 30 period comes to $ 7.92 per million British thermal unit going by the new indexation of pricing it at 10 per cent of imported cost of crude oil.
However, the Union Cabinet had while changing the pricing formula capped the rates at $ 6.5 per mmBtu for two years ending March 31, 2025.
“For the gas produced by ONGC/OIL from their nomination fields, the price shall be subject to ceiling of $ 6.5 per mmBtu,” the order said.
The capped rates which are about a quarter less than the current prices, will lead to CNG and piped cooking gas prices being cut by up to 10 per cent.
Following the decision, the CNG price in Delhi is likely to be cut from `79.56 per kg to `73.59 and that of PNG from `53.59 per thousand cubic meters to `47.59. In Mumbai, CNG may cost `79 per kg instead of `87 and PNG may cost `49 per scm instead of `54.
The Government on Thursday accepted several key recommendations made by the Kirit Parikh Committee with respect to the pricing of natural gas produced from APM fields (that are legacy fields and largely held by PSUs like ONGC).
Under the new pricing mechanism, the pricing of gas will be linked to 10 per cent of India’s average monthly crude import basket. There would also be a floor price of $ 4 per mmBtu and a ceiling price of $ 6.5 per mmBtu.
