Background
Gujarat Gas Company Ltd, a natural gas distribution company, is 65.12 per cent owned by BG (formerly British Gas). Practically all its operations are focused on the western state of Gujarat, an industrially advanced state where demand for natural gas exceeds supply by almost four times. At the end of 2000, it had over 115 km of transmission and more than 1,240 km of distribution pipelines.
After hiving off its LPG division and abandoning the idea of entering the wind power business, the company has decided to focus its mind on building its core business of gas transmission and distribution. Subsidiaries include Gujarat Gas Financial Services and UGI Gujaratgas India. Gujarat Gas also has a collaboration with Thermax to promote gas-based appliances like air-conditioners and micro-gas turbines.
The parent
Active on four continents, the British Gas group has a presence in some 20 countries around the world. The group operates in five business segments - exploration and production, liquefied natural gas, transmission and distribution and power and gas storage.
A little bit of history: In 1997,after shareholders of British Gas plc approved the demerger of Centrica plc, British Gas plc was renamed BG plc. Two years later, a financial restructuring resulted in the creation of a new parent company,
BG Group plc.
Today, BG owns and operates one of the largest gas transportation systems in the world - 2,67,000 kms of pipeline delivering 2,000 lakh standard cubic metres per day of natural gas to millions of UK customers. In the 12 months ended December 2000, the group
