Confidence Petro ties up with Israeli company

Nagpur-based Confidence Petroleum India, which is in the business of LPG cylinder manufacturing and bottling, has joined hands with Israel-based Energtek to provide natural gas to automotive and industrial consumers in India.

The new venture will be housed in a 50:50 subsidiary "" Confi Energtek Asia "" and will start providing adsorbed natural gas (ANG) to customers in cylinders in the next two months.

Adsorbed Natural Gas (ANG) technology provides cost-effective storage of natural gas, by maximising tank storage capabilities.

ANG technology utilises activated carbons placed inside the tank to adsorb greater quantities of gas, a technique similar to that of a sponge.

In the first phase, Confidence Petroleum will invest around Rs 100 crore in the venture. In the second phase, it will invest Rs 250 crore.

"We are aggressively planning to establish ourselves in the natural gas energy segment. This joint venture is one step towards achieving our goals," said Nitin Khara, Chairman and Managing Director, Confidence Petroleum.

The venture expects a net profit of Rs 15-18 crore rupees on revenue of Rs 80 crore in the first year, he added.

"Since India is considered a big market for two wheelers and three wheelers, the ANG market here is huge," said Lev Zaidenberg, CEO, Energtek. "Natural gas costs approximately half the price of gasoline. It is also 150 per cent cheaper than LPG," he added.

An auto rickshaw driver, for instance, shells out around Rs 35,000 for a CNG kit. But an ANG kit would only cost him Rs 18,000. According to Confidence Petroleum, ANG will be cheaper than CNG by Rs 3 per kg.

Confidence Petroleum's shares were up 4.98 per cent at Rs 12.65 on the BSE.