10th city gas distribution auction may start by December

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) may start the process for the tenth round of city gas distribution auction for 30-40 geographical areas by December, Chairman Dinesh Kumar Sarraf said.

"I think it could be even earlier than that," Sarraf said when asked when in December the regulator may start the auction process. Sarraf said the regulator is in the planning stage for the auction and some of the key policy decisions could affect the timing.

Another official who did not want to be named said the regulator plans to wrap up the auction for 30-40 geographical areas in about three-four months.

In the ninth round of auction, winners for which were announced in September, Adani Gas Ltd, Indian Oil Corp Ltd, and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd's arm Bharat Gas Resources Ltd had emerged as the successful bidders for licences for 84 geographical areas.

A total of 86 areas were offered in the ninth round of auction. However, bids for two areas are now subjudice and their results will only be announced once the legal process is completed, a PNGRB official said.

On its own, billionaire Gautam Adani's Adani Gas was the successful bidder for 13 areas, while its joint venture with state-owned Indian Oil Corp Ltd—Indian Oil-Adani Gas Pvt Ltd—was successful for nine areas. Indian Oil emerged as the winner for seven geographical areas.

Bharat Gas, which decided to go alone in the auction, succeeded in getting 11 geographical areas. Over 400 bids were received under this round of auction, which was held as per revised rules to generate more investor interest, given that the last few rounds were damp squibs.