Reliance Industries representatives will be coming here next week to sign the share holding deal with the Andhra Pradesh government for the Hyderabad piped gas project. The project to cost Rs 3,500 crore for supply network in Hyderabad and Rs 1 lakh crore for the entire state. RIL is presently supplying 10 million metric standard cubic metre per day (mmscmd) for projects in Andhra which is the present requirement.

Briefing newsmen after a review of the status on state share in natural gas and other ongoing projects in the KG Basin, DAV Somayajulu, state advisor on policy implementation said that the state government has fully exploited the gas allocated to it in the first phase of EGoM allocations of the gas produced by RIL. The RIL team is due for visit between August 11 and 14 for signing the agreement.

??Though we were allocated 7.7 mmscmd in phase-1, we were able to utilise the full 10 mmscmd (standard million cubic metres per day)?? he said. He added that 5 mmscmd of gas was earmarked for the gas projects in the entire country. In AP, the Krishna-Godavari Gas Network and the Bhagyanagar Gas?a JVC of GAIL and HPCL Bhagyanagar Gas, will implement the project.

In a review meeting chaired by chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, Somayajulu said AP enjoyed 10 mmscmd of gas in phase-I and is expected to get 10 mmscmd of gas in phase-II.

While Nagarjuna Fertilisers operated at 60% capacity utilisation, only 1,800 mw of the 2,800 mw gas-based power generation plants were operated and generated. He said that the EGoM approval for allotment of natural gas power plants would help Gauthami (464 mw), Vemagiri (370 mw), Konaseema (445 mw), and GVK Phase II (220 mw).

Notwithstanding the decision of the Supreme Court in the RIL case, the last EGoM had allocated another 10 mmscmd of gas out of the 40 mmscmd of gas being produced from July this year. Somayajulu said as per the present equity pattern K-G Gas Network Limited, RIL holds 67%, Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation 11%, IDFL?s equity is 11% and the Andhra has 11%. He said the super power plant at Karimnagar has also been allocated 8.5 mmscmd of gas from KG Basin in the second phase of allocations for the state besides the city gas pipeline project in the state.