Mumbai: GAIL (India) Limited will get a majority stake of 29 per cent in the joint venture company, Tripura Natural Gas Company Ltd. (TNGCL). An agreement, to this effect, between GAIL, Tripura Industrial Development Corporation (TIDC) and Assam Gas Company Limited (AGCL) will be signed soon. As per the agreement, 29 per cent shares of TNGCL of the initial authorised share capital of Rs. 10 crores will be offered to GAIL at par. The equity participation pattern will allow TIDC and AGCL each to hold 10 per cent equity while the public, financial institutions and others will hold the remaining 51 per cent.

In may 2004, the government of Tripura, had decided that TNGCL would exclusively undertake retail gas distribution in the state. TNGCL will promote and expand its existing business of distribution and marketing of natural gas for consumers in domestic, commercial and industrial sectors including distribution and marketing of CNG for use by consumers in the automotive sector. The state government will provide all the necessary support, policy framework and fiscal incentives, if required to enable gas usage in the state.

TNGCL will undertake distribution and marketing of Piped Natural Gas (PNG) to domestic, commercial, and small industrial users, in and around cities in Tripura; compressed natural gas (CNG) as fuel for vehicles or for any other purpose and any other gaseous fuels permitted by the government of India.

The company will also invest in setting up of the required infrastructure and its operation and maintenance, including facilities for compression of natural gas. TNGCL will also set up CNG dispensing stations; create administration and marketing assets; lay communication cables along with pipeline network and provide technical services to customers.

Though, GAIL will exclusively supply natural gas to the TNGCL at city gate stations, TNGCL would be responsible for laying, operating and maintaining its own pipeline by taking tap-off from custody transfer point from the existing or future natural gas pipelines of GAIL for such city distribution projects.

The government of India had allocated 0.25 mmscmd of natural gas to the government of Tripura, department of Industries for use in industrial and other purposes in 1991. Out of which 0.13 MMSCMD was later transferred in favour of Tripura Natural Gas Company Ltd. (TNGCL) a JV company formed by TIDC and AGCL in 1997 at the request of the government. of Tripura, for implementing the gas distribution project at Agartala.

The remaining 0.12 mmscmd is still with the government of Tripura, department of industries. In 2003, the government of Tripura requested GAIL to take up the city gas project in Agartala. Subsequently, TIDC and AGCL agreed to induct GAIL by offering a majority stake in the existing JV, TNGCL, for distributing and marketing natural gas and compressed natural gas (CNG) for residential, commercial, industrial and automotive sectors in Tripura.