The regulator Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) announced that state-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) received two licences for selling CNG to autos and piped cooking gas to homes in the current bid round.

In states like Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, seven companies submitted 21 proposals for city gas licences in five locations.

In the 11A city gas distribution (CGD) bid round, the PNGRB provided 5 Geographical Areas (GAs) distributed across 27 districts in five states.

BPCL was awarded a licence for a GA that includes areas in Uttar Pradesh like Lakhimpur Kheri, Sitapur, and Mahrajganj, including districts in Chhattisgarh like Koriya, Surajpur, Balrampur, and Surguja.

HPCL was awarded the licence for a GA that included the Bihar districts of Banka and Godda, Jamtara, and Pakur, along with the Jharkhand districts of Dumka, Godda, Jamtara, and Pakur.

It also got the licence for the West Bengal districts of Birbhum, Murshidabad, Malda, and Dakshin Dinajpur.

GAIL Gas Ltd, a subsidiary of state-owned GAIL, was awarded the licence for the districts of Kodagan, Bastar, Sukma, Bijapur, and Dantewada in Chhattisgarh.

The PNGRB told the media that letter(s) of Intent to winning bidders for the 5 GAs were issued on April 27, 2022. On April 6, bids for the five GAs were received.

Bids for the sixth GA of Yanam in Puducherry have been added to the bid round, and are due on May 10.

According to the PNGRB, roughly 88% of the country's land will be approved for the establishment of a city gas distribution (CGD) network, which will bring natural gas to nearly 98% of the population.

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