RNRL to invest Rs 16,000 cr in gas

Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL), a group company of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG), is planning to invest Rs 16,000 crore in the gas business, a large chunk of which will be used to lay the longest gas pipeline in the country.

RNRL has sought permission of the ministry of petroleum and natural gas to start its own city gas distribution networks in Mumbai, Delhi and the National Capital Region, comprising towns such as Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Faridabad.

The pipeline network for the distribution of gas will span over 3,000 km, and entail an investment of around Rs 2,000 crore, said Anil Ambani, chairman, RNRL, at the annual general meeting (AGM) of the company in Mumbai today.

He said this integrated model ensured that consumers would be able to avail of services in power and cooking gas from the same utility, in line with global trends, with shared facilities like meters, billing systems and infrastructure, reducing the cost of delivery.

Further, RNRL has sought ministry approval to lay a 1,600 km pipeline that will help transport gas from Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh to Dadri in Uttar Pradesh. This will be the longest pipeline in the country, and would require an investment of over Rs 14,000 crore.

The pipeline will run through the states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, and supply gas to consumers in these states.

In Dadri, Reliance Energy is setting up a 7,480 mw power project, the world's largest gas based project at a single location.

He also said that the company would look beyond India to firm up long-term contracts with international players for imported coal and would explore the option of acquiring equity stake in coal mines outside the country to secure fuel for its coal-based power plants.

Last year, RNRL forayed into oil and gas exploration and production sector, and bagged four coal bed methane (CBM) blocks out of a total of 10 that were offered by the government.

With a total CBM acreage of 3,251 sq km, RNRL is now the second largest player in the country in terms of CBM acreage, and has invested over Rs 280 crore in exploration activities.