New e-bidding norms: Reliance, others don’t need government nod for gas pricing
Reliance Industries and other producers of natural gas will no longer need the government approval for the gas price if it is arrived at using the new guidelines for the discovery of market price, an official order said.
The ministry of petroleum and natural gas last week notified guidelines for the discovery of market prices for domestically produced natural gas through e-bidding.
The government has since 2017 given pricing freedom for natural gas produced from all fields other than the old fields of state-owned ONGC and Oil India Ltd in nomination blocks.
Firms such as Reliance Industries-BP combine as well as ONGC (for non-nomination blocks) have been auctioning gas to users. They would typically devise a formula and seek bids from users.
They will continue to devise a pricing formula, but will now have to seek bids on the electronic-platform of five pre-selected agencies, the notification said.
The agencies are SBI Capital Markets Ltd, mjunction Services Ltd, RITES, MSTC and CRISIL Risk and Infrastructure Solution Ltd.
