Question : Bifurcation of GAIL

(a) whether the Government is considering the bifurcation of GAIL and if so, the details
thereof and aims and objective behind the move;
(b) whether the Government is also planning for a market-driven pricing mechanism by
introducing a new tariff policy for natural gas and if so, the details thereof and
whether the Government has consulted all the stakeholders in this regard;
(c) whether the Government has also laid a road map of increasing the share of natural
gas in the country’s energy basket to 15 per cent by 2030 and if so, the details thereof
and the manner in which GAIL will contribute to achieve the target;
(d) the details of the projects being operated by GAIL (India) Ltd. in different parts of the
country along with the present status/progress of the said projects, particularly in
Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra;
(e) the details of profit earned/loss incurred by GAIL (India) Ltd. during the last three
years and the steps taken to enhance the profit; and
(f) the other steps taken by the Government to bring in transparency to India’s gas
market?;

MINISTER OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS
(SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)
(a) There is no such proposal under consideration at present.
(b) Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has notified the unified tariff
regulation i.e. PNGRB (Determination of Natural Gas in Pipeline Tariff) Second
Amendment Regulations, 2020 on 23.11.2020. PNGRB has also notified the Petroleum and
Natural Gas Regulatory Board (Gas Exchange) Regulations, 2020, on 28.09.2020. Indian
Gas Exchange Limited (IGX) has started functioning in June, 2020. Details of these
regulations may be seen at www.pngrb.gov.in/eng-web/regulation.html.
(c) As per BP Statistical Review of World Energy, June 2020, the present share of Natural
gas of India in primary energy basket is 6.3%. The target is to increase this share to 15% by
2030. Government is promoting expansion of Natural Gas Infrastructure, i.e. pipeline, LNG
terminals, City Gas Distribution & Compressed Natural Gas retail network in the country
expansion of natural gas market. CGD networks ensure the supply of cleaner fuel (i.e. PNG)
to households, industrial & commercial units as well as transportation fuel (CNG) to vehicles.
GAIL is executing projects related to expansion of gas infrastructure in the country.
(d) GAIL is majorly implementing Jagdishpur-Haldia-Bokaro–Dhamra pipeline
(JHBDPL) with Barauni-Guwahati Pipeline in the state of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,
Jharkhand,Odisha, West Bengal, Assam and Kochi-Kootanad-Bangaluru-Manglore Pipeline
(KKBMPL) in the state of Kerala, Tamilnadu and Karnataka. Details of other projects of
GAIL is available at https://gailonline.com/BV-NarutalGas.html
(e) The details of the profit earned during the last three years is stated as follows:
Period Profit Before Tax
(PBT) (Rs. in Crore)
FY17-18 6,958
FY18-19 9,085
FY19-20 7,943
GAIL has informed that they have taken the following major steps to enhance the
profitability of the company:
i. Company-wide cost optimization drive has been initiated to bring down the cost and
improve operational efficiency during this uncertain business environment
ii. Digitization and Process optimization drive has been started in the company to reduce
response time and cost.
Various marketing initiatives such as hedging of Commodity prices, Destination swap, Time
Swap are being undertaken on continuous basis to bring down the cost and mitigate the risk
on imported LNG portfolio.
(f) Government is taking steps to progressively move towards gas based economy and
major steps taken in this direction are as below:
1. Fair price discovery through E-bidding platform and Gas Trading Exchange.
2. Introduction of Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP)/ Open
Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) replacing NELP/PSC.
3. Introduction of Discovered Small Field (DSF) Policy for early monetization of unmonetized
discoveries of National Oil Companies (NoCs).
4. National Data Repository (NDR) and National Seismic Programme for conducting
2D seismic survey for data Acquisition, Processing and Interpretation (API).
5. Introduction of New Domestic Natural Gas Pricing Guidelines, 2014 based on the
international prices prevailing in major international hubs like Henry Hub (USA),
Alberta (Canada), NBP (UK), Russia etc., to strike a fine balance between the
requirements of both producing and consuming sectors.
6. PNGRB has notified PNGRB (Gas Exchange) Regulations, 2020, on 28.09.2020 and
PNGRB (Determination of Natural Gas in Pipeline Tariff) Second Amendment
Regulations, 2020 on 23.11.2020.
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