India notifies way for market-based gas price discovery
NEW DELHI : The government has unveiled the template for market-based price discovery of gas and empanelled SBI Capital Markets Ltd, MSTC Ltd, Crisil Risk and Infrastructure Solution Ltd, RITES Ltd, and mjunction Services Ltd to carry out price discovery auctions through an electronic platform.
A contractor shall engage one of these five independent agencies who have been empanelled for an initial period of three years, according to a 3 December notification by the petroleum and natural gas ministry on market price discovery for domestically-produced natural gas. “The contractor shall design the tender/ bid offer, including eligibility criteria, bid parameters, evaluation criteria, tender fee, salient terms and condition of gas sales agreement and any other relevant information, with a view to encourage wider participation from prospective buyers, promote competition and maximize the value of natural gas offered,” as per the notification.
This standardized e-bidding mechanism has been formulated by the directorate general of hydrocarbons (DGH) after the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in October approved the formulation of a standard procedure for market price discovery of gas across various contractual regimes.
