IGX secures authorisation from Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board

New Delhi [India], December 3 : The Indian Gas Exchange (IGX) said on Thursday it has secured necessary authorisation to operate as a gas exchange as per provisions of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (Gas Exchange) Regulations 2020 for a period of 25 years.
With this development, IGX has become first regulated gas exchange in the country, said D K Sarraf, Chairperson Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB).
"The exchange will play an instrumental role in the transparent discovery of gas prices, accelerate investments in the value chain, aid in capacity utilisation of pipelines as well as boost consumer confidence and in turn increasing gas demand in the country," he said.
The GER 2020 Regulations were notified on September 28 and IGX submitted its application for authorisation on October 8.
SN Goel, Chairman of Indian Energy Exchange and Director of IGX, said this is a landmark development not just for IGX but for the overall gas sector and the economy at large.
The market mechanism will create competitive markets to benefit the end consumers with competitively priced gas and cost-effective price signals, he said in a statement.
"It will facilitate demand growth, thereby leading to development and investments in upstream and downstream parts of the value chain. IGX also envisions to create Indian gas benchmark as IEX has done for electricity," he added.
The IGX currently offers trade in five contracts: daily, weekly, weekday, fortnightly and monthly at three physical hubs at Hazira and Dahej in Gujarat and KG Basin in Andhra Pradesh.
The exchange has since received encouraging response from all stakeholders and will shortly commence trading with over 500-plus registered clients and 14 members. Since its launch on June 15, the platform has cumulatively traded 74,600 metric million British thermal units (MMBTUs).