Regulator rejects Adani’s application for gas licence

Oil regulator PNGRB has rejected Adani Total Gas Ltd.’s application for a licence to retail CNG to automobiles and pipe gas to household kitchens in Noida, on the outskirts of the national capital, on the grounds that it does not meet criteria. In a July 14 order, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) stated that Adani Total Gas Ltd does not meet the legal requirements and thus its application is denied.
Adani has been eyeing a city gas distribution (CGD) licence for cities adjoining the national capital for nearly two decades now. While Indraprastha Gas Ltd., the joint venture of state-owned firms, had been authorised for the National Capital Territory of Delhi, Adani has challenged IGL’s claim for adjoining cities.
PNGRB, which came into being in 2006, accepted city gas authorizations given to companies by the central government prior to its existence. IGL, which had been retailing CNG in the NCT of Delhi since the late 1990s as per the orders of the Supreme Court and the Union government, was given a city gas licence. The firm also got the same for Noida in Uttar Pradesh, citing an April 8, 2004 authorization letter from the central government.
Adani Energy Ltd. (AEL), which later became Adani Total Gas Ltd. (ATGL) after French energy giant TotalEnergies took a stake in the company, on June 25, 2008, claimed authorization for the development of a city or local natural gas distribution network (CGD network) for the geographical area (GA) of Noida.
The regulator could not process the application at the time of its submission, and the issue of authorization for Noida went to the Supreme Court. In September last year, the apex court disposed of a petition saying the regulator was free to proceed in deciding on the dispute.
Thereafter, PNGRB began processing the Adani application. It rejected Adani’s application, with two out of the three adjudicating members voting for it. A third member, Ajit Kumar Pande, Member (Legal), opined that it was not prudent for PNGRB to pass an order as the case was sub-judice since Adani had filed an application with the appellate tribunal APTEL. Other PNGRB Members, Gajendra Singh and A. K. Tiwari, voted in favour of the rejection of the application.