State-run gas utility GAIL India has sought $0.18 as marketing margin to make up for the effort it undertakes to sell natural gas, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said today.
GAIL is the designated marketing agency for all the gas that state firms like Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) produces from pre-1999 fields. This gas is sold at fixed rates called Administered Price Mechanism (APM) price and GAIL is not allowed to charge marketing margin on them.
"GAIL has requested for marketing margin of Rs 330 per thousand cubic meters ($0.18 per million British thermal unit) on sale of APM gas," Deora said in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha here today.
The margin sought by GAIL is higher than $0.135 per mmBtu charged by Reliance Industries on the gas produced from its eastern offshore KG-D6 fields.
"GAIL has requested the government to allow levy of marketing margin on APM gas customers, as is being charged for other non-APM gas (like ones from) Panna Mukta and Tapti fields and regasified-LNG," Deora said.
He said, "Further, the marketing efforts and associated risks are the same for both APM and non-APM customers".
