Indian Oil Corporation to invest Rs. 20,000 crore in city gas distribution business

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), plans to invest Rs 20,000 crore in city gas distribution (CGD) projects in next five to eight years.

IOC, which owns a third of India’s oil refining capacity identifies  compressed natural gas (CNG) replacing some of the petrol and diesel consumed in vehicles today and LPG replaced by piped cooking gas in households. 

The company plans to invest at least Rs 20,000 crore for the CGD business in those projects won during the ninth round of bids. The investment will mainly include setting up of CNG dispensing stations as well as laying pipelines in cities to transport gas to households for cooking purposes and industries for commercial use. 

According to oil ministry figures, India needs to invest an estimated $100 billion in natural gas infrastructure by 2022, including setting up a gas grid across 228 cities, The New Indian Express Reported.