NEW DELHI, May 30 (UPI) -- India said it would give priority to the ailing fertilizer sector in allocation of natural gas from the Krishna-Godavari basin.
According to an official of the petroleum and natural gas ministry the government decided to give fertilizer sector top priority in allocation of natural gas to be produced from fields like Reliance Industries' offshore KG-D6 block.
An Empowered Group of Ministers headed by external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee decided that for 2008-09 fiscal demand of existing gas-based fertilizer plants would be met first from production from fields like KG-D6, official said.
He said once the demand of fertilizer sector are met remaining gas will be allocated to existing gas-based power units. The EGoM decided on gas utilization only for the current fiscal and that for future would be decided later.
"Fertilizer sector has been accorded the top priority and after today's decision it will get first preference on gas to be produced from fields operated by private firms," chemical and fertilizer minister Ram Vilas Paswan told media persons.
Besides the unmet demand of gas-based plants, about 6.5 million metric standard cubic meter daily of gas will be given to naphtha run plants that will convert to gas next year, Paswan said.
