Minister Puri inaugurates 201 CNG stations, GAIL’s first small scale LNG unit  

Minister Puri leads the ceremony, highlighting the nation’s vision for sustainable energy and the development of gas infrastructure.

Minister Hardeep Singh Puri dedicated 201 CNG Stations and India’s first small-scale LNG Unit of GAIL to the nation. The dedication of the stations was conducted via video conferencing today. 

“Today marks another milestone on the road to becoming a gas-based economy and a step forward towards our pursuit of energy security combined with sustainable growth,” said Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Housing & Urban Affairs. Speaking at the event, he reiterated the Government’s vision to increase the share of natural gas in the primary energy basket to 15 percent by 2030. “The development of the National Gas Grid (NGG) and a widespread CGD network for connecting consumption centers with supply points is vital for creating a gas-based economy,” he said.

The event was attended by Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas & Labour and Employment, Rameshwar Teli, Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG), Pankaj Jain, Chairman and Managing Director of GAIL (India) Limited, Sandeep Kumar Gupta, Additional Secretary of MoPNG, Praveen Mal Khanooja, GAIL Director (Finance) R K Jain, Director (Projects) Deepak Gupta, Director (Marketing) Sanjay Kumar, Director (Business Development) R K Singhal, and senior officials of oil and gas sector companies, including CGD entities.

The 201 CNG stations dedicated to the nation today have been set up by 15 City Gas Distribution (CGD) entities of the GAIL group in 52 Geographical Areas (Gas) across 17 states, while India’s first small-scale LNG unit has been set up by GAIL at its Vijaipur LPG plant.

Out of these 15 CGD entities, 53 stations belong to GAIL Gas Limited, 50 to Indraprastha Gas Limited, 43 to GAIL, and 20 to Mahanagar Gas Limited. Additionally, four belong to Avantika Gas Limited, two to Bengal Gas Company Limited, three to Central UP Gas Limited, one to Goa Natural Gas Pvt. Limited, three to Green Gas Limited, one to Haridwar Natural Gas Limited, two to Purba Bharati Gas Limited, one to Rajasthan State Gas Pvt. Limited, one to Tripura Natural Gas Company Limited, and one to Vadodara Gas Limited.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that India is committed to continuously improving the policy and regulatory environment to support development and make cleaner and sustainable fuel accessible and available to the public at large. The addition of GAIL group’s 201 CNG stations spread across 52 Geographical Areas is a step closer to achieving this vision and also portrays the company’s commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility. The inauguration of these CNG stations is a testament to our collective efforts to reduce carbon footprint and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.

Commending GAIL for its innovation in setting up India’s first Small Scale LNG unit at Vijaipur (Madhya Pradesh) with a project cost of 150 crores, Puri said that this Small Scale Liquefied Natural Gas technology has the potential to play a crucial role in connecting isolated gas sources with the market and consumers, thereby helping in the monetization of these resources.

As per the Minimum work plan submitted by CGD entities, the Minister noted that the country will have around 17,500 CNG stations and around 120 million PNG (Domestic) connections by 2030. It will help in the development of ancillary industries in various segments (CGD meters, Compressors, Dispensers, etc.) for fulfilling the dream of Atmanirbhar Bharat, he said.

With the inauguration of the CNG stations and the Small-Scale LNG unit, the Minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to sustainable energy practices.