New Delhi
Reliance Industries Ltd expects prices of natural gas in India to rise again in October but wants government-dictated caps to go, in a bid to align domestic rates with global energy prices.
The conglomerate, controlled by billionaire MukeshAmbani, expects the price cap for its KG-D6 gas sales to rise over the current USD 9.92 per million British thermal units, Sanjay Roy, senior vice-president for exploration and production, said in an investor call following the announcement of the firm’s quarterly earnings on Friday.
After remaining a loss-making provision for several quarters, Reliance’s gas exploration business has begun reaping rewards of a global surge in energy prices that have already pushed the rates to a record high.
The government sets gas prices every six months based on international rates.
The price of gas from old or regulated fields was more than doubled to a record USD 6.1 per mmBtu from April 1, and that for difficult fields like those lying in deepsea to USD 9.92 per mmBtu.
Rates are due for a revision in October.
It is anticipated that the price of gas from old fields of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will be hiked to about USD 9 per mmBtu and the cap for difficult fields will rise to double digits.
Reliance produced about 19 million standard cubic meters per day of gas from its newer fields in the eastern offshore KG-D6 block in the April-June quarter.
