CNG PNG may become costlier:Booking a ride on Uber, Ola, others may also cost you dearly

The City Gas Distributors (CGDs) may increase Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Piped Natural Gas (PNG) prices as the government has raised the rate of natural gas by over 3%. Consequently, any hike in CNG prices may also propel ride-hailing companies like Ola and Uber to increase fares. Why CNG PNG prices may increase in India? The government has raised prices of natural gas produced from legacy fields called Administered Price Mechanism (APM) gas to 7/MMBtu from 6.75/MMBtu. The Centre has hiked rates of gas produced from these legacy fields. This type of gas is produced from legacy fields or old wells and serve as raw material for manufacture of CNG and PNG. This type of gas accounts for 60% of India’s total domestic gas production. How much APM gas is produced in India? India produces 92 million (9.2 crore) standard cubic metres of legacy gas on per day basis. Will hike in raw gas prices make CNG PNG costlier? It is most likely that following the higher input cost, the CGDs might hike CNG and PNG prices in the country. Fertilizers might also become costlier which may hurt farmers. How CNG PNG rates determined in India? CNG and PNG prices are linked with rates of domestically produced gas in India. And, the rates of this domestically produced gas are regulated by the government. The Centre has followed this practice since 2023. How prices of domestically produced natural gas determined? The Centre sells domestically produced natural gas to producers like OIL and ONGC at 10% of monthly average of India’s crude basket. The government notifies this on a monthly basis. Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) notified rates of $10 mmBtu for this domestically produced gas for April. But since the band of $4 to $7mmBtu is placed, so the government would sell the legacy gas at $7 and not $10. For the gas produced by ONGC/OIL from their nomination fields, the above-mentioned APM price shall be subject to a ceiling of USD 7 per mmBtu on GCV basis for the same period. -PPAC said to PTI But there are some fields regarding which the government has allowed producers to sell domestically produced gas at 20% premium over the APM price. These fields are new wells of OIL and ONGC. Govt allows Reliance to sell gas at a price higher than the limit: Moreover, the Centre has given pricing freedom in case of gas extracted from difficult fields – the one which are operated by Reliance Limited from the KG D6 fields Govt notifies price of domestically produced natural gas twice The Centre notifies prices of domestically produced natural gas on monthly basis as well as on semi-annually basis. For April 2026, the oil ministry’s PPAC has notified that prices would $10.76 per mmBtu. Albeit, the government’s cell has not notified the rates for 6-month period of 1 April to 30 September 2026 but for the period ranging from 1 October 2025 to 31 March 2026 at $7.72 per mmBtu. How much India is dependent on other nations for procurement of natural gas? India needs a lot of energy to power its homes, factories, and vehicles. Natural gas, w is used for cooking, making electricity, and in many industries. But India doesn’t produce enough natural gas on its own, so it has to buy it from other countries. The country meets 50% of its aggregate natural gas consumption through imports. On which countries India is dependent for natural gas? Qatar: The Top Supplier Citing commerce ministry data, Groww, says that the biggest supplier of natural gas to India is Qatar. About 33.1% of all the natural gas that India buys from other countries comes from Qatar. UAE: Another Major Source The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is another very imperative source of natural gas for India. Almost 24.8% of India’s imported natural gas comes from the UAE. Other Countries That Help Power India Besides Qatar and the UAE, India also buys natural gas from several other countries, though in smaller amounts: US: The United States (US) supplies 8.7% of India’s imported natural gas. Kuwait: This country provides 7.0% of India’s natural gas imports. Saudi Arabia: India gets 6.7% of its imported natural gas from Saudi Arabia. Angola: This African nation supplies 4.4% of India’s natural gas imports. Oman: Another Middle Eastern country, Oman, provides 3.8% of India’s imported natural gas. Nigeria: Nigeria contributes 3.9% of India’s natural gas imports. Mozambique: This African country supplies a smaller amount, 1.4% of India’s natural gas imports. Australia: Australia provides the smallest portion, 0.9% of India’s natural gas imports.