Wednesday,Nov 08,2006
BG to invest $1billion http://www.business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=264068&subLeft=1&leftnm=1
Gayatri Ramanathan / Mumbai November 08, 2006
Global gas major British Gas will invest around $1 billion in its Indian assets over the next five years. This includes a $275 million investment in the Panna Mukta Tapti oil field in Gujarat. The oil field is owned by a consortium which includes Reliance Industries, ONGC and BG. British Gas owns 30 per cent stake in the consortium.
The consortium is planning to increase recoveries from the field, BG Chairman Robert Wilson said.
The three companies together are expected to invest around $750 million in the field to increase recoveries from the current 10.5 million standard cubic metre per day (mmscmd) to 17 mmscmd by mid-2007.
Wilson also indicated that a similar amount may be invested in the company's other asset, an exploration block in the Krishna-Godavari basin in which it is a partner with ONGC.
A portion of the planned investment is also being set aside for any blocks that it may be awarded under New Exploration and Licensing Policy (NELP) 6, Wilson indicated. BG has bid for six blocks in the current round of bidding, the results of which are expected in the middle of this month.The company also plans to invest around Rs 300 crore in expanding its presence in the city gas distribution business where it has obtained sanction to set up three subsidiaries in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Last month, the company received Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval to invest Rs 300 crore in these states in city gas distribution.
It is scouting for suitable partners, a senior company executive said.
BG already has a joint venture, Mahanagar Gas, with the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) for distributing gas in Mumbai, and sells 300 mmscmd in the city.
It also sells 2.2 mmscmd in Gujarat through its subsidiary Gujarat Gas Company Limited.A senior British Gas executive also indicated that the company is considering investing in the power sector in the country.
"There are some issues in power but as a gas company we would certainly look at investing in the power sector some time in the future," he said.
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