GAIL (India) Ltd has acquired a 5 per cent equity stake in the Indian Gas Exchange (IGX), the country’s first authorised market for natural gas.
With this divestment, the stake of the parent company, Indian Energy Exchange, in IGX has come down to 85 per cent. On January 22, the firm had announced a 5 per cent stake sale each to Adani Total Gas and Torrent Gas.
IGX is an automated trading platform for imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) that enables buyers and sellers to trade on the spot as well as the forward market. With market leader GAIL buying a stake, the fledgling platform now has all major Indian gas players on board.
Gas market ecosystem
“The partnership between GAIL and IGX will benefit the gas sector as a whole and pave the way for further development of the gas market, more trading through the gas exchange, and increase in capacity utilisation of pipelines,” said Santanu Roy, Executive Director (Business Development & Corporate Affairs), GAIL, in a statement.
IGX is the first gas exchange in the country to have secured authorisation from the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) under Gas Exchange Regulations 2020.
“Gas markets are on the cusp of breakthrough growth,” said SN Goel, Chairman, IEX, and Director, IGX, in a statement. “IGX is proactively working in collaboration with the stakeholders to build gas markets ecosystem in the country.”
With 15 members and more than 500 registered clients, IGX offers an alternative to the gas spot market in India. It currently operates from three physical hubs — Hazira and Dahej in Gujarat, and KG Basin in Andhra Pradesh.