Torrent Gas to invest Rs 8,000 cr

It holds a city gas license for selling compressed natural gas (CNG) to vehicles and piped cooking gas (PNG) to industries and households kitchens across seven States.

New Delhi: Torrent Gas Ltd on Tuesday said it will invest Rs 8,000 crore over the next five years in expanding its city gas operations with a target to set up 500 CNG dispensing pumps by March 2023.

It holds a city gas license for selling compressed natural gas (CNG) to vehicles and piped cooking gas (PNG) to industries and households kitchens across seven States. Within 18 months of its operations, Torrent Gas has set up 100 CNG pumps, its director Jinal Mehta said at a virtual event organised to announce the commissioning of 42 CNG stations. This commissioning took the number of CNG stations under Torrent fold to 100, he said.

---

“Torrent Gas intends to make a total investment of Rs 8,000 crore (USD 1.1 billion) over the next 5 years towards the creation of CGD infrastructure in the country, of which Rs 1,050 crore has already been invested,” Mehta said.

“We are working to set up 200 CNG stations by March 2021 and 500 CNG stations by March 2023, apart from making PNG widely available to industries and residences in our authorised areas,” Mehta said.

Speaking on the occasion, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said CNG pumps should look at becoming energy providers by also selling traditional fuels such as petrol and diesel alongside alternatives like biogas and LNG.

He said the government wants to increase the number of CNG stations in the country from about 2,300 currently to 10,000 in the next four-to-five years.

The CNG stations commissioned on Tuesday are located across various states, including 14 in Uttar Pradesh, eight in Maharashtra, six in Gujarat, four in Punjab and five each in Telangana and Rajasthan. Besides, City Gate Stations in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab were also commissioned.