News Release Details

Hon’ble Minister of P&NG and SD&E awards 100th LOI to CBG producer under SATAT
New Delhi   27-Feb-2019

Hon’ble Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Govt. of India, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, awarded the 100th LOI to Compressed Biogas (CBG) producer under the Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) initiative in New Delhi today.
SATAT initiative was officially launched on October 1st, 2018, in New Delhi, by the Hon’ble Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship. As a part of the scheme, an Expression of Interest was invited by Oil & Gas Marketing Companies viz. IndianOil, BPCL, HPCL, GAIL and IGL from prospective applicants to produce and supply Compressed Biogas.
SATAT was launched with a four-pronged agenda of utilising more than 62 million metric tonnes of waste generated every year in India, cutting down import dependence, supplementing job creation in the country and reducing vehicular emissions and pollution from burning of agricultural / organic waste.
The EOI received an overwhelming response with entrepreneurs across the country showing their interest. More than 100 applications were received within five months of the scheme launch. The applications were received from domestic as well global industry players keen on partnering with PSU Oil marketing Companies. Upon evaluation of EOIs, an impressive number of applicants were found eligible, culminating into the launch of a milestone event, as Shri Pradhan awarding the 100th LOI to the qualified applicant.
The Minister hailed the occasion as a breakthrough in realising the vision of a clean and green India as envisaged by the Government of India. He also reiterated that spreading the gas grid fed by CBG from thousands of such plants across the country would significantly reduce India's import burden and provide an economical and environment-friendly alternative to conventional petroleum fuels.
Background
Bio-gas is produced naturally through a process of anaerobic decomposition from waste / bio-mass sources like agriculture residue, cattle dung, sugarcane press mud, municipal solid waste, sewage treatment plant waste, etc. After purification, it is compressed and called CBG, which has pure methane content of over 90%.
Compressed Bio-Gas is exactly similar to the commercially available natural gas in its composition and energy potential. CBG can be used as an alternative, renewable automotive fuel. Given the abundance of biomass in the country, CBG has the potential to replace CNG in automotive, industrial and commercial uses in the coming years.
There are multiple benefits from converting agricultural residue, cattle dung and municipal solid waste into CBG on a commercial scale:
• Responsible waste management, reduction in carbon emissions and pollution
• Additional revenue source for farmers
• Boost to entrepreneurship, rural economy and employment
• Support to national commitments in achieving climate change goals
• Reduction in import of natural gas and crude oil
• Buffer against crude oil/gas price fluctuations
The potential for CBG production from various sources in India is estimated at about 62 million tonnes per annum.
Compressed Bio-Gas plants are proposed to be set up mainly through independent entrepreneurs. CBG produced at these plants will be transported through cascades of cylinders to the fuel station networks of OMCs for marketing as a green transport fuel alternative.