Basics of CGD For MBA Oil - Gas Students

For internal circulation only
Index
Page
Chapter 1 Natural Gas in Overall Energy Scenario of India
Introduction 2
Natural Gas Industry 3
Exploration and Production (E&P) sector of India 5
LNG Supply Scenario in India 6
Advantages of Natural Gas 6
Chapter 2 City Gas Distribution (CGD) Network

Introduction 8
Evolution of CGD in India 8
Demand 9
Demand drivers for CGD Networks 10
Gas Transmission & Distribution System 12
Demand Estimation 13
Designing of a CGD Network 14
Integrated GIS for Gas Distribution System 21
Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) on 30
CGDNs
Commercial issues in development and operations of a 35
CGD Network
Chapter 3 Compressed Natural Gas

Introduction 38
Economics 40
Factors that influence demand for CNG 42
Compression of Natural Gas 43
CNG Stations, Dispensing of CNG & CNG transportation 44
in Cascades
Chapter 4 Piped Natural Gas (PNG) for Domestic, Commercial

& Industrial Consumers
Introduction 50
Application of PNG in a CGD Network 50
City Gas Distribution 1

Chapter 1: Natural Gas in Overall Energy Scenario of India
This chapter discusses the importance of natural gas in the overall energy mix of India, about the natural gas industry, gas
exploration & production activities, LNG supply scenario and also brings out the advantages of natural gas.
Energy is the prime mover of economic growth and is vital to the sustenance
of a modern economy. Future economic growth crucially depends on the long-
term availability of energy from sources that are affordable, accessible and
environmentally friendly. India ranks sixth in the world in total energy
consumption and needs to accelerate the development of the sector to meet
its growth aspirations. The country, though rich in coal and abundantly
endowed with renewable energy in the form of solar, wind, hydro and bio-
energy has very small hydrocarbon reserves (0.4% of the world’s reserve).
India, like many other developing countries, is a net importer of energy, more
than 25 percent of primary energy needs being met through imports mainly in
the form of crude oil and natural gas. The rising oil import bill has been the
focus of serious concerns due to the pressure it has placed on scarce foreign
exchange resources and is also largely responsible for energy supply
shortages. The sub-optimal consumption of commercial energy adversely
affects the productive sectors, which in turn hampers economic growth. If we
look at the pattern of energy production, coal and oil account for 54 percent
and 34 percent respectively with natural gas, hydro and nuclear contributing
to the balance. In the power generation front, nearly 62 percent of power
generation is from coal fired thermal power plants and 70 percent of the coal
produced every year in India has been used for thermal generation.
The distribution of primary commercial energy resources in India is quite

skewed. 70 percent of the total hydro potential is located in the Northern and
North-eastern regions, whereas the Eastern region accounts for nearly 70
percent of the total coal reserves in the country. The Southern region, which
has only 6 percent of the total coal reserves and 10 percent of the total hydro
potential, has most of the lignite deposits occurring in the country. On the

consumption front, the industrial sector in India is a major energy user

accounting for about 52 percent of commercial energy consumption. Per
capita energy consumption in India is one of the lowest in the world. But,
energy intensity, which is energy consumption per unit of GDP, is one of the
highest in comparison to other developed and developing countries. For
example, it is 3.7 times that of Japan, 1.55 times that of the United States,
1.47 times that of Asia and 1.5 times that of the world average.
During the pre-reform period, the commercial energy sector was totally
regulated by the government. The economic reform and liberalization, in the
post 90s, has gradually welcomed private sector participation in the coal, oil,
gas and electricity sectors in India. Energy prices in India have been under an
administrated regime with subsidies provided to meet certain socio-economic
needs of the public. This has led to distortion and inefficiency in the use of
different sources of energy. The government has taken serious steps to
deregulate the energy price from an Administered Price Mechanism (APM)
regime. The prices of all grades of coal and petroleum products have already
been deregulated. But still cooking fuels i.e. Kerosene and LPG remain highly
subsidized causing a serious fiscal deficit in the balance sheets of OMC’s.
Also the prices of transportation fuel (Gasoline and Diesel) still remain under
GOI influence due to various political motives which further the burden on
OMC’s.
Natural Gas Industry
Natural Gas sector in India is in a critical stage of development and has

witnessed a flurry of activity over the recent past. The market was initially
closely regulated due to the supply security concerns as well as the politically
sensitive nature of the downstream product prices. However having
recognized the need to attract private capital to develop the sector, the
Government initiated the New Exploration and Licensing Policy (NELP). This
allowed private players to participate in the exploration and development of oil
and gas fields. Subsequently Natural gas prices from these wells were linked

to international crude prices and the recent government efforts are being
channelled towards drawing up a comprehensive policy for sector
development.
Natural gas is a mixture of hydrocarbon gases and is a colorless, odorless

fuel, environment friendly energy source, which burns cleaner than many
other traditional fossil fuels. It is highly flammable hydrocarbon gas chiefly
consisting methane CH4 and on the basis of the concentration of methane it
is also termed as Dry and Wet gas. In addition to it natural gas may also
include other gases such as oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, ethane, ethylene,
propane and even some helium. As far as its occurrence is concerned it
occurs deep below the surface of the earth in three principal forms-
associated gas, non- associated gas and gas condensate.
Associated gas is found in crude oil reservoirs, either dissolved in the crude
oil or in conjunction with the crude oil deposits while Non-Associated gas
occurs in reservoirs separate from crude oil wells. It is also termed as dry gas.
Gas Condensate is the hydrocarbon liquid dissolved in saturated natural gas
that comes out of solution when pressure drops below dew point. Natural gas
is used mainly in the industrial, commercial, transportation, and domestic
sectors out of which power and fertilizer sector consume maximum amount of
natural gas in India.
Natural Gas occupies about 8.5% of the total energy basket of the country
which is much lesser than the world average of 24%. However, the scenario is
fast changing, largely because of the expected increase in the availability of
natural gas in the country. The structure of primary energy consumption in
India shows that coal (51%) still dominates as the major energy source.
Hydrocarbon (45%) is the next available energy provider of the nation.
Natural gas is fast emerging as an alternative; it meets around 9% of the

primary energy needs. Considering the global trend of shift in energy axis
from oil to gas, the share of gas in consumption pattern, in the Indian context
is expected to increase exponentially in the days to come.

Natural gas is used by the end user in different ways as per need. The various
ways or applications of natural gas in industry as well as household needs
are:
a) Natural gas as a fuel in electricity generation by utilities;
b) Natural gas as a clean fuel in cooking and household needs in the form of
Piped Natural Gas;
c) Natural gas as a fuel for the boilers, furnaces, baking ovens and air
conditioning in Industries;
d) Natural gas as a motor fuel in the form of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)
and;
e) As a petrochemical and fertilizer industry feedstock.
Exploration and Production (E&P) sector of India

The E&P activities were promoted with the introduction of New Exploration
and Licensing Policy (NELP I) in 1997 which became effective in year 1999.
So far 6 NELP rounds have been successfully undertaken in which 162
shallow water, deep water and on land blocks are awarded to the National Oil
Companies (NOC), PSUs, JVs and other foreign exploration companies. The
initial discoveries of Cambay basin, Mahanadi basin and Krishna Godavari
(KG) offshore were found to be interesting enough to promote more and more
NELP bidding rounds. Similarly, significant discoveries were also made in
Rajasthan. As per the draft utilization Policy-2007 of GoI E&P activities
accounts for nearly 36% of total estimated demand for the current year and it
is supposed to increase in the coming future. According to the DGH, GoI is
committed to offer exploration blocks in coming years and in the next five
years, area under exploration for Indian sedimentary basins is expected to
increase from 44% at present to 80%. By 2015, whole sedimentary basin area
is planned to be brought under exploration.
Assuming India’s additional gas import requirements are all met by LNG,
India’s total LNG imports in the reference case could reach 10 million tonnes
in 2015, 21 million tonnes in 2020, and 31 million tonnes in 2025.

LNG supply scenario in India
With the growing energy demand and the current state of energy deficiency,
Qatar LNG came out as a boon and the future of Indian energy scenario
heavily depends on the LNG supplies from new sources. Shell Hazira terminal
was set-up as a merchant facility based on aggregation of gas demand on
spot or short-term basis. India is focusing on development of new gas
terminals with long term contracted LNG supply at Kochi, Ennore and possibly
at Mangalore and Mundra in addition to the existing terminals at Dahej, Hazira
and Ratnagiri. The overall demand-supply projections for natural gas are
clearly shows that R-LNG is a huge potential for growth in the country:-
Supply
10-11 11-12 12-13 13-14 14-15 15-16
Domestic – Existing 139.75 139.75 139.75 139.75 139.75 139.75
Domestic – Additional 10.25 46.25 46.25 46.25 65.25
R-LNG – Existing 27.00 27.00 27.00 27.00 27.00 27.00
Total Supplies 166.75 177.00 213.00 213.00 213.00 232.00
Demand-Supply Gap (*) (44.49) (112.39) (96.92) (180.05) (229.21) (245.38)
(*) Proposed to be bridged through Additional R-LNG imports
Sectoral Demand Supply Gap
2009-10 Unmet
10-11 11-12 12-13 13-14 14-15 15-16
incldg LNG demand
Fertilizer 43.39 1.10 1.10 1.62 2.57 42.93 42.93 37.61
Power 66.86 13.00 13.00 17.45 5.83 34.99 64.16 85.35
CGD 6.26 1.47 1.47 6.55 9.31 15.31 21.31 25.60
Others 50.24 36.71 28.92 86.78 79.22 86.82 100.82 96.83
Total Demand 166.75 52.28 44.49 112.39 96.92 180.05 229.21 245.38
Advantage of using Natural Gas

Natural Gas offers multitude of advantages pertaining to the environment as
well as the energy efficiency. Some major advantages or benefits that it offers
are:
I) It is a clean, efficient, safe and environment friendly fuel hence offers more
efficiency without sacrificing the environmental concern;

II) It does not required storage yard as the gas is directly delivered to the
pipeline hence offer less chances of any mishap due to storage leakage
and spillage of storage tanks;
III) There is no risk of breakdown in fuel supply due to order processing
delays to replenish the fuel inventory;
IV) It minimizes the manpower and mechanical power required for handling
the fuel;
V) In terms of the current global oil scarcity it offers the advantage of being
the most efficient and profitable alternative fuel.

Chapter 2: City Gas Distribution (CGD) Network
This Chapter discusses brings about the concept of a CGD Network, how has the same evolved in India, demand in a
CGD network and the drivers, gas transmission and distribution activities, designing of a CGD Network, concept of GIS
in a CGD Network, Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory Board’s role in development of CGD networks and commercial
issues in the development of CGD Networks.
As the name suggests, CGD is the last component in the natural gas value
chain delivering natural gas to end users in towns and cities. While large
customers such as the power and fertilizer industry receive natural gas
directly through the high pressure interstate transmission pipelines, CGD is
provided through the network of medium to low pressure distribution pipelines
by a local distribution company. The tap off point from where the city
distribution network takes its supply from the transmission system for the city
distribution system is referred to as the city gate. CGD involves movement of
small volumes of gas through small diameter, low pressure pipelines to a
large number of retail customers. Typically, the network comprises
compressed natural gas (CNG) dispensing stations throughout the network
that supplies natural gas for automotive use, and a piped natural gas network
that provides natural gas as a fuel for city-based commercial/ industrial/
domestic purposes. Since natural gas is odourless and colourless, Mercaptan
is added to it and when it enters the CGD network, which gives it a typical
smell of rotten eggs to ease leak detections.
Evolution of CGD in India

CGD is not a new business for India. A review of its history reveals that the
gas retail business in the country started as early as 1880 by the Calcutta Gas
Company, which is operating even today. The company runs on coal gas and
faces losses. The other CGD operator, which has now gone out of business,
was the Bombay Gas Company that started way back in 1900 and went out of
business during the 1960s. The Delhi Municipal Corporation operated a gas
distribution system in Okhla with biogas, which worked for a long time. The

system has now been converted to natural gas. Some of the smaller initiatives
in city gas include the networks in ONGC townships in Mehsana, Hazira, etc.
Another such social initiative was by Assam Gas in Duliajan, which was
targeted at disadvantaged sections of the population. The big impetus for the
CGD network came in the 1998 when the Supreme Court issued orders to
convert all public transport vehicles plying in Delhi to CNG in response to a
public interest litigation on account of rising air pollution in Delhi. This was
followed by a similar initiative in Mumbai. Eighty CNG stations were set up by
2000. Thereafter, it rolled into other cities like Agra, Lucknow, Pune, etc, in
2002, and further to Ahmedabad, Kanpur, Mumbai, Kolkatta, Chennai, etc, in
2003. The Gujarat Gas Company Limited (GGCL) started with a few CNG
stations in Surat and Ankleshwar. Adani came in this business in 2002 and
GSPC Gas is the latest entrant in this sector.
Demand
The two biggest natural gas customer segments in India are power plants and
fertilizer producers. These are followed by the petrochemicals sector, CGD,
liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)/ other liquid hydrocarbons, and the sponge
steel sector. The demand from the power segment comes from gas-fired
power plants, located along the HVJ pipeline and in Tamil Nadu, Andhra
Pradesh, and Maharashtra, including Mumbai. NTPC is the biggest consumer.
Other key customers include the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB),
Gujarat Powergen Energy Corporation Limited (GPEC), GVK Power and
Infrastructure (GVK), and Spectrum Power Generation Limited. The
customers in the fertilizer segment are urea-producers with nitrogen-based
plants, the biggest of which include Indian Farmers Cooperation (IFFCO),
National Fertilizers Limited, Oswal Fertilizers, and Rashtriya Chemicals and
Fertilizers. Industrial users are mainly from the sponge iron, petrochemicals,
textiles, and glass industries. Major industrial customers include Indian
Petrochemicals Limited (IPCL), Essar Steel, Ispat Steel, Usha and Maruti
Udyog. The PNG and CNG segments are growing fast, too. In the domestic
segment, the key growth drivers are gas distribution companies like GGCL,

IGL and MGL, which are developing the necessary infrastructure. Along with
that, the increasing price of LPG prompts consumers to switch over to PNG.
In addition, the use of CNG in the transportation sector is rising because of
court-backed environmental measures against the use of diesel and other
polluting fuels. The total natural gas demand in 2007-08 was 179 MMSCMD.
The demand from the CGD segment of the industry was estimated to be
approximately 12.08 MMSCMD.
Demand Drivers for CGD Networks

There has been a low geographical spread of CGD projects, which are limited
to a few select cities. Private sector participation has been limited. Further,
limited gas allocation to this segment of the natural gas value chain, no clear
long-term strategic plan for CGD development by the government and no role
by the state governments, have all meant slow development of the CGD
market in the country. Except in Gujarat, CGD development has been mainly
driven by environment factors.
However, since experiences has indicated that the CGD market is not as
price-sensitive as the power and fertilizer sectors, there is a growing interest
to tap more cities for CGD among gas suppliers, as gas prices are
increasingly moving upwards. In addition, for the coming years, the
government policy favors coal for the power sector. Of the likely capacity
addition during the Eleventh Five Year Plan period of around 66,000 MW, the
major thrust is on coal and hydel projects with limited new capacity expected
from gas. Gas demand in the fertilizer sector would be driven by alternate
feedstock urea units as the new policy for switching from alternate feedstock
to gas/ LNG allows for mop up of efficiency gains to pay back the capital
expenditure incurred on revamps to gas based units. In future, it is expected
that there will be a more definitive move towards private ownership of CGD
projects. This is expected to lead to more aggressive market development
attempts leading to greater value propositions for investors in the CGD
business. Not surprisingly, about Rs 90 billion of investment is envisaged in

the Eleventh Five Year Plan period on the development CGD infrastructure.
More than 200 cities are expected to be on the pipeline network in the next 10
years, which is primarily expected to be driven by the future larger availability
of gas. Apart from these factors, CGD companies have also seen changes in
the mainframes of their consumers. Previously, while complying with the
needs of domestic consumers, CGD companies had been offering a “bundled
service” including infrastructure and gas supply. Gas usage had been limited
to cooking and heating in some households. However, air conditioning has
now begun to be considered as a viable option as well. With the government
gradually reducing the subsidy provided on domestic LPG connections, CGD
companies hope to achieve higher penetration in the domestic cooking fuel
market with an increasing number of households switching from LPG to pipe
gas. The increase in consumer density has the potential to increase business
margins for entities from this segment. For the commercial and industrial
segment, apart from lighting and heating, cooling has emerged to be viable,
similar to that in the domestic sector. Moreover, the need for gas to operate a
backup power facility is emerging to be a major driver for CGD in these two
segments of customers. In the small industrial segment, gas competes well
with alternatives like fuel oil in terms of price economics. There is also scope
for gaining carbon credits by the industrial segment using gas. The transport
sector attracts attention for CNG, as pollution with petrol/diesel is highly
visible, and the Supreme Court and other environmental agencies are
becoming very strict with their norms. The sector demands gas not only to
reduce emissions, but also to reduce their dependence on imported oil, which
affects their financials heavily.
Large scale conversion of petrol driven private vehicles to CNG, introduction

of CNG variant models by car manufacturers, new models of CNG light
commercial vehicles, the demand from Northern Railways for running their
diesel multiple units on a mix of diesel and CNG, and the introduction of radio
taxis and high capacity buses in view of the Commonwealth Games, all
indicate potential increase in CNG usage.

Gas Transmission & Distribution System

Natural gas that is received at the City Gate Stations is mostly passed through
a cleaner to remove liquids and dust. The primary function of the city gate
station is to measure the amount (volume) of incoming gas. It is generally
measured through orifice meters. Another function is to reduce the pressure
of the gas to be sent for distribution, as the distribution system requires much
lesser pressure than that in long distance transmission. Mechanical devices
called pressure regulators lower the gas pressure and helps to control the
flow rate to maintain desired pressure level throughout the distribution system.
With the reduction in pressure, the natural gas also becomes cooler, so
sometimes it has to be heated up in regions where the temperature is below
zero degree. Last but not the least, at the City Gate station, the odourisation
of the natural gas takes place. Different types of odorants are used, so that
the “smell” makes the presence of the escaping, unburnt gas recognizable at
very low concentrations. This serves as a warning well before the gas
accumulates to hazardous levels; a mixture of air and natural gas are
explosive over the range of 5% to 15% natural gas. To ensure safety,
odorized natural gas is detectable at concentration of just 1%.
The piping system also forms a major part in City Gas Distribution. Mainly
there are 4 types of piping systems other than supply mains:-
a) Feeder mains transport gas from the pressure regulator or supply main
to the distribution mains. Feeder mains might also have some lines
connected to large industrial users.
b) Distribution mains supply gas primarily to residential, commercial, and

smaller industrial consumers.
c) Service lines deliver gas from the distribution main in the street to the
consumer’s meter. Service lines are usually the property and

responsibility of the utility. However, some utilities own only the portion of
the service lines in the public domain.
d) Fuel lines are customer piping beyond the meter to various appliances.
These lines are the property and responsibility of the building owner. City
Gate Station is the tap-offs at the main pipeline. These are the
termination station for a city where the various processes like pressure
reduction, filtration, and odourization is done. The gas from the main
pipeline is brought down to a pressure of 19-22 bars and then transferred
through steel pipeline to DRS.
District Regulation Station are installed where the distribution is to be done

like in the industrial area and commercial segment. Gas to the various
consumers is transferred after being maintained at a pressure of about 4-5
bar. Then the gas is transmitted to Single Stream Regulator (SR) through 4
bar medium pressure PE pipelines. SR further reduces the pressure from
4bar to 100 mbar. From SR the gas is supplied through a 100 mbar low
pressure PE pipeline to a G.I. Riser Isolation wall. From this valve the gas is
carried through a G.I. (Galvanized Iron) 100 mbar pipelines to end user. The
control valve is placed at the height of 5 ft which controls the flow in City Gas
Distribution wherein a regulator is installed which brings down the pressure to
21 mbar for basic home users. A meter is installed which tells the amount of
gas being used depending on which they are charged.
Demand Estimation
Natural gas has long been considered as an alternative fuel for the
transportation sector. In fact, natural gas has been used to fuel vehicles since
the 1930's! New stringent state emissions laws require an improvement in
vehicle emissions over the foreseeable future. Natural gas, being the cleanest
burning alternative transportation fuel available today, offers an opportunity to
meet these stringent environmental emissions standards. Natural gas vehicles
are much cleaner burning than traditionally fuelled vehicles due to the

chemical composition of natural gas. It is estimated that vehicles on the road

main source of pollution in form of hydrocarbon emissions, nitrogen oxide
(NOx) emissions and carbon monoxide. All of these emissions released into
the atmosphere contribute to smog pollution, and increase the levels of
dangerous ground level ozone. The environmental effects of natural gas
vehicles (NGV) are much less detrimental than traditionally fuelled vehicles. In
addition, natural gas is very safe. Being lighter than air, in the event of an
accident natural gas simply dissipates into the air, instead of forming a
dangerous flammable pool on the ground like other liquid fuels. This also
prevents the pollution of ground water in the event of a spill. Natural gas fuel
storage tanks on current NGVs are stronger and sturdier than gasoline tanks.
Natural gas is also an economic alternative to gasoline and other
transportation fuels. Traditionally, natural gas vehicles have been around 30
percent cheaper than gasoline vehicles to refuel, and in many cases the
maintenance costs for NGVs is lower than traditional gasoline vehicles.
Natural gas vehicles as they exist today are best suited for large fleets of
vehicles that drive many miles a day. Taxicabs, transit and school buses,
airport shuttles, delivery vehicles, and public works vehicles are all well suited
to natural gas fuelling. Because these vehicles are centrally maintained and
fuelled, it is economical and beneficial to convert to natural gas.
Designing of a CGD Network

In order to meet the projected gas demand for City gas distribution network for
automobile, commercial, industrial and domestic sector consumption, a
pipeline is envisaged to connect the city from the City Gate Station (CGS)
from main gas transmission pipeline.
Tap-off point
Gas tap-off point is a gas outlet provided on main gas transmission trunk line
laid by gas producer or transmission network operator for transportation of
gas from wellhead to far away location in the region. The gas pressure at tap-
off point can be a high pressure ranging from 49 to 99 bar. The bulk supplier

may have gas metering facility at tap-off point for measuring the gas quantity
before dispatch to City Gate Station. The Gas tapped off from bulk suppliers
trunk line travels up to CGS through Spur line.
City Gate Station

The City Gate Station (CGS) is a facility for receiving, measuring and
conditioning the gas for distribution in city. The equipments installed at CGS
measure the quantity of gas received and regulate its pressure to 19 bar or
less for safe distribution of natural gas in the city. The gas received at CGS is
odorized by mixing odorant chemical in required proportion for easy detection
by human nose in the event of leakage/escape. The CGS also houses control
room and other facilities like spares stores, small workshop, SCADA system,
stand by power source and fire fighting facility etc. Natural Gas is generally
made available at the downstream of CGS at a pressure of 19 bars to cater to
the demand of automobile, commercial, industrial and domestic sectors.
Some of the major installations at CGS are described below-
a) Odourizing Facilities
It is good practice to odorize natural gas to ensure a safe natural gas
distribution system. The natural gas in the existing HBJ pipeline is un-
odorized and therefore it is necessary to install odorizing plants. It is
envisaged to install one automatic, gas flow rate based odourant injection
system at CGS. This system will odorize incoming un-odourized gas by
injecting odourant in the natural gas. The technical, safety standards &
specifications of the PNGRB requires odourization to the extent of 12.5
PPM dosage. The odorant usually consists of sulphur based chemical
compounds and a combination of two odorants [30% tetra-hydro-
thiophane (THT) and 70% tetra butyl mercaptan (TBM)] provides a better
odour impact than a single odorant, especially if there is substantial
background odour such as in a mildly polluted environment. Indian style of

cooking with pungent condiments and high foul smell level due to open
drainage in town also will require higher level of odourisation.
b) SCADA System
SCADA system in a CGD network ensures effective and reliable control,
management and supervision of the pipeline from CGS using (RTUs)
located along the pipeline at suitable locations. The pipeline, DRS and
CNG station performance are monitored and controlled from central
SCADA system control centre installed at CGS. The SCADA System
Control is linked through fiber optics cable or remote terminal unit (RTUs)
located along pipeline. RTUs will be used for scanning and tele-metering
of pipeline parameters such as flow, temperature, pressure, valves status,
CP parameters, etc., to update the computer data.
Main Grid Line

A CGD network has a Steel Main Ring route originating from the CGS and
consists of steel pipelines and spur lines of various sizes (generally of sizes
19”, 12”, 10”, 8”, 6” or 4”) based on the design load and future demand of gas.
Sectionalizing valves are provided in main steel line as well as in spur-lines at
designed intervals for future extension and isolation purpose. The regulations
of the PNGRB require steel pipeline connectivity to all online CNG stations for
compression of CNG. Provisions are also made for safe blow down of gas into
the atmosphere through vent either at the DRS or at suitable safe distance
from the sectionalizing valve assembly.
Cathodic Protection System

For efficient and satisfactory functioning of the main grid line system, both
from safety and economic point of view, the pipeline must be protected
against corrosion. External protection shall be provided for prevention of
pipeline corrosion. This external protection is a combination of anti-corrosion
coating and cathodic protection techniques. Conventional coating of pipelines
by 3-layer Polyethylene (PE) / Coal tar / Fusion Bonded Epoxy coating are

used as "passive" protection. Complete corrosion protection cannot be

achieved practically by coating, as it is impossible to fully avoid minor defects
such as pores or cracks in the coating. Welded pipelines are particularly
subject to corrosion at coating holidays because of their low longitudinal
resistance, i.e., they practically do not resist the flow of current through the
pipeline. At these holidays, dangerous pitting corrosion is initiated because of
the high corrosion current density; this phenomenon often causes rapid
corrosion and failure of pipeline.
Cathodic protection is a method for protecting the pipe reliably even at

undetected coating holidays. The protective current supplies electrons to the
structure to be protected and prevents corrosion. Based on the experience
and other relevant data as well as indigenous availability, PE/ FBE coating
shall be provided as external corrosion coating for the pipeline. The field joints
are coated by heat shrink sleeves.
Salient features of the CP system for Main Grid Line are as follows:
a) The main grid line is cathodically protected by an impressed current CP
system as a permanent facility.
b) Measures adopted to mitigate stray current interference due to the
interference along the pipelines
c) Temporary Cathodic Protection (TCP) is provided during project
construction phase.
d) All the used road/ rail crossings are provided with proper insulating
spacers, end seals, drain and vent pipes. The casing pipes is
independently protected by sacrificial anodes, wherever necessary.
e) For monitoring purposes in normal cases, test stations are installed at
closer intervals in case of congested areas. In addition, test points are
provided at all crossings and near insulating joints. The transformer
Rectifier and Control panel have monitoring gauges for indicating
protection current and voltage.

f) Interference effects, wherever suspected or observed are duly investigated

and remedial measures provided for, wherever necessary.
g) Insulating joints are provided on the pipelines at all necessary locations,
where electrical isolation is desirable such as at CNG Stations and DRS.
The grounding cells/ spark gap arresters are also installed across
insulating joints.
Distribution system
The city gas distribution network is designed to operate with natural gas at a
pressure of 19 bar for distribution to domestic and commercial consumers and
the distribution system comprises of the following-
a) District Regulatory Stations (DRS)

DRS encompasses a pressure reduction system, metering equipment,
condensate removing facility and cold venting facility fitted in a single self-
contained skid mounted cabinet. This regulator brings down the gas
pressure from 19 bar (max) to 4 bar. The capacity of DRS varies from
2,500 SCMH and 5,000 SCMH @ 4 bar. Filter Separator are provided at
the inlet of each run of the pressure reduction metering assembly with
filtration efficiency of 99.9% for the removal of all particles from 5 micron
size onwards. The flow measurement meter is of turbine type. The
regulating assembly is a dual run assembly with each run designed for the
full flow capacity required for the station and manual isolating valves
provided to facilitate servicing of each run without shutdown of the station.
Number and Phasing of DRS is a function of demand and deliverable
pressure.
b) HDPE pipe network

For commercial and domestic consumers low pressure, generally 4 bar
underground network is provided, as it is safe for inhabited areas, easy to
lay and economical. The low pressure PE pipeline network in the
downstream of Service Regulator (SR) operates at 75 to 100 milli bar

pressure. For industrial areas large diameter PE100, SDR11 pipelines

originating from Industrial DRS are laid for supply of gas to small and
medium industrial consumers at 4 bar pressure. These lines will be laid as
per the market penetration. The distribution system in a CGD network is
constructed from HDPE pipes of 125, 90, 63, 32 and 20 mm diameter
pipes of SDR 11 grade (Standard Dimension Ratio: Ratio of outside
diameter to minimum wall thickness) joined by electro-fusion jointing
system. The polyethylene fused joints are as strong as the parent pipe,
ensuring the integrity of the pipe system. The polyethylene compound
used in the manufacture of pipes shall be free from cadmium. Only virgin
material is used for extrusion of these pipes and fittings.
The Distribution network is divided in two categories as per operating

pressures. The medium pressure network operates at 4 bar pressure. This
network is laid between DRS and Service Regulator. The low pressure
network operating at 75 to 100 milli bars is aid between Service Regulator
and Domestic connection.
c) Medium Pressure Distribution Mains

The Medium pressure Distribution mains carry gas from DRS to Service
Regulator with standardized sizes of 125 mm, 90 mm and 63 mm and are
of PE 100 grade orange material. The wall thickness of these pipes is also
as per SDR 11. These pipes are laid underground in specially prepared
trenches at one meter depth below the ground. The pipes are padded and
back filled with sieved fine sand for protection against third party damage.
Warning tape is installed on the pipeline to warn third party against
accidental damage. These pipelines also have isolation valves at regular
intervals and before branch off.
d) Low Pressure distribution services

Similar to the medium pressure distribution line, low pressure distribution
pipeline / service lines are also laid underground in trenches with padding

and warning tape laid on pipelines. The service lines (size 63 mm, 32 mm
& 20 mm) originate from the Service Regulator (SR) to reach domestic
consumers and are of PE 100 grade SDR 11 orange colour.
e) Natural Gas Connection and Gas Metering
(i) Domestic Connection

The domestic connection is given from service line through a transition
fitting which is used to connect PE pipe line to GI pipeline network
inside the household. A meter regulator is installed on inlet of domestic
gas meter to reduce the gas pressure from 75 milibar to 21 milibar. The
GI pipeline is installed in the household through shortest route to reach
up to kitchen stove.
(ii) Commercial Connection

The gas supply connection to commercial consumers is given either
from service lines or distribution mains depending upon gas
requirement. However, large commercial consumer can be connected
from medium pressure lines and the pressure regulator and meter for
such consumer are accordingly selected. Small commercial consumers
can be given connection from service lines and the meter regulator
arrangement for this consumer will be similar to domestic connection
except metering capacity.
(iii) Industrial Connection

The natural gas supply connection to industrial consumer can be either
provided directly by tapping steel mains or through industrial DRS
located in industrial estate. Direct connection from steel mains requires
dedicated pressure reduction and metering system. The gas meter can
be ultrasonic, turbine or rotary positive displacement type depending
upon flow rate.

The peak flow rate based pipe line sizing is done to optimize on steel
pipelines. The sum total of all the DRS and CNG stations hourly flow rates
governs the basic sizing of the steel network. The PE pipelines are sized to
flow this gas to various charged areas in a CGD Network. The DRS has peak
flow capacity of 5000 SCMH and 2500 SCMH and Service Regulators have
peak flow capacity of 500 SCMH. The DRS and Online CNG stations are
located on steel network. The peak flow capacity of District Regulating Station
(DRS) governs design and sizing of Medium Pressure Polyethylene (MPPE)
and Low Pressure Polyethylene Pipelines (LPPE). City Gas Distribution
system is designed as per the technical, safety standards & specifications
Regulation of the PNGRB for a City Gas Distribution project are ANSI/ ASME
B 31.8, “Gas Transmission and Distribution Piping System”. Since ASME B
31.8 does not adequately cover plastic pipes, for this ISO:4431 ‘Buried
Polyethylene (PE) pipes for the supply of gaseous fuels - Metric Services
Specifications’ is followed for design of polyethylene pipes.
Integrated GIS for Gas Distribution System
A Geographic Information System (GIS) is playing a pivotal role for utilities

with applications for planning, designing, decision-making, network analysis
and monitoring of environmental degradation. Globally, use of this technology
in gas distribution utilities has expanded tremendously in the last decade. GIS
applications were built to model geospatial information and processes that
support gas distribution utility network and operations in the real world.
GIS software companies have come up with solutions for different purpose
such as outage management System, engineering design, transmission
corridor management, and network asset management. Gas distribution
companies have implemented these products separately to support their
business workflows in various departments, such as services groups,
consumer groups, operations groups, billing groups, etc. The importance of
common single workflow process phenomena across all departments has led
to the conception of integrated GIS for gas distribution.

The following discussion outlines the details of GIS bearing on gas distribution
system; concept of integrated GIS for gas distribution and how single-vendor
based integrated GIS is evolving as a solution for a single workflow for a gas
distribution company’s business processes.
Gas Distribution System

Gas distribution system is a connected pipeline system that carries natural
gas from a source such as a city gate station or regulator station to the
customer premises. A typical gas distribution system consists of assets such
as main pipes and service pipes to distribute gas, valves, and regulator
devices to control and regulate gas flow, joins and fittings to join different
pipes and meters to measure inlet and outlet of gas. Gas transmission
pipelines reach city borders and convert to gas distribution at city gate station.
Gas is typically, regulated, odourized, filtered and measured at city gate
station. Then gas may pass through several main pipelines to different
localities within the city. Generally, service pipes connected to mains carry
gas from mains to customer locations. Gas distribution system is complex, in
contrast to gas and electric transmission systems, as it consists of many small
segments of various diameter pipes joined by various types of fittings and gas
control components placed at regular lengths of network. The pipes usually
run up on one street and down on next, forming loops. What most
distinguishes city gas distribution from gas transmission is that distribution
companies’ supply fuel to retail customers.
Therefore, gas utilities may like to manage inventory of their Gas distribution
assets. They may be interested to know information such as particulars of gas
leak locations and impact of environment on their assets. They may like to
know what to put back into working order and what to replace. They may also
like to know which of their assets impact other utilities, nearby to their own
assets such as underground electric systems. Since gas distribution lines are
underground, they must protect those lines from delinquent backhoe
operators digging the ground for other pipelines or cables.

Besides finding suitable site for new assets, losses in gas distribution and the
growing concern over environmental issues are areas of concern that a gas
utility must address. This requires the utility to accurately keep track of its
assets in the field, such as asset location, size, status and spatial behaviour.
This task can be overwhelming for the utility without a GIS.
GIS for Gas Distribution System

Gas distribution companies are using GIS software products to support their
engineering and operations functions and are realizing enhanced customer
service, increased network reliability and reduced cost. GIS helps to maintain
asset knowledge, which enables better use of available capacity such as size,
pressure and inlet quantity of gas at station making it possible to use existing
pipeline infrastructure before embarking on an expensive new build. With the
recent advances in web-applications and adoption of broadband networks, it
is now possible to integrate GIS with other business processes of the utility
enterprise. For example, a work order that is raised for maintenance of an
underground pipeline segment can have a link to online GIS map to locate not
only the area of work, but also to get information such as depth at which the
pipeline is buried, valves to be closed to isolate the maintenance region and
details of other assets in the neighbourhood.
Integrity Management in Gas Distribution

In the past, governments paid more attention to high pressure gas
transmission pipeline integrity and wanted transmission companies to publish
their integrity reports. However, in recent times, governments, pipeline safety
regulators and many industry representatives have realized that integrity
management has to be extended to the gas distribution networks too,
considering their vicinity to living areas of people. Implementing integrity
management enhances safety and also reduces risk to public property,
improves gas distribution company’s asset life and builds up customer
confidence.

In the future, integrity management for gas distribution system can become
more formal. Just like transmission, issues can occur in gas distribution in the
form of leaks, corrosion, excavation damages and unplanned outages. Gas
distribution companies have to formulate programs to tackle integrity
requirements. One prerequisite to integrity management is to understand the
existing network elements such as mains, services, valves, regulators,
cathodic sections, meters etc. This is easily achieved with the help of a GIS,
which provides information about material used for piping, diameter, operating
pressure, if the pipe is exposed or cased, leaks on pipes and their repair and
maintenance history. This information helps in identifying threats to
distribution system’s integrity that can be risky in the form of unpredictable
damages to assets and people.
Leak Management
A GIS can identify nearest valves or structures that need to be closed, to
separate the leak area from rest of network to mitigate loss. After an accident
or leak, the network has to be restored and damaged pipe segments have to
be replaced. GIS applications can help in building the footage network that will
replace failed network by identifying types of pipes (cast iron or steel), length
of pipes and number of pipe segments. Leak analysis is another priority for
integrity management. GIS interacts with leak database and discovers leak
locations. A cluster analysis on leaks can be performed to determine the
areas, which need immediate attention.
Risk Management
GIS can interact with pipe corrosion detection systems and show unprotected
and exposed pipes in an area. If customer demand is expected to increase in
that area, then gas distribution company can immediately make plans to
replace the weak pipes or protect the vulnerable pipes to reduce risk of
damage.

Safety
Most of the times it is a regulation that requires reporting performance and
health of the system. For example, under certain conditions of pressure, it is
recommended to have excess flow valve on a single line connection to reduce
hazards and safeguard homes. GIS can maintain history of leaks on service
lines and visually analyse this historical data to help make decisions about
excess valve installations.
Apart from above, there are two most important areas to be assessed under
distribution integrity. One is to supplement data for One Call Tickets to do risk
analysis and provide to excavators and another is corrosion management to
protect pipes.
One Call Analysis

Many countries have mandated a regulation on making a telephone call to the
“call before you dig” centre or one call centre, before doing any kind of
excavation in order to avoid damages to utility networks, due to digging the
ground. Based on the maps provided by utilities in proposed digging area,
One call centre determines if the excavator is digging in an unsafe area that
can cause damage to gas or any other utility electrical lines and pipes buried
under ground. The centre then notifies the gas or concerned utility by creating
a one call ticket. It is now the gas (utility) company’s responsibility to provide
full details on locations of their pipes that may be hit if excavation is done, and
provide any other such instructions to carry out excavation without any
damage by excavators. GIS plays a key role in this activity by directly locating
the excavation area on map and displaying the pipeline details buried in that
region. A full-scale report on these details can be produced from GIS that the
gas (utility) company can submit to the one call centre, which in turn instructs
the excavators accordingly.
Corrosion Management

For corrosion management, it is important to identify pipe segments that may

need protection. The underground pipes, which are made of steel and iron
other than plastic, corrode due to the proximity to earth. If a pipe segment is
steel, it may require to be cathodically protected. GIS can be of great use for
corrosion management as it can visually display the pipe segments covered
by cathodic protection on the map and those that are not covered.
Integrated GIS
Due to the many advantages of using a GIS, Utilities are increasingly adopting
GIS enabled solutions to meet their needs. A distinct trend towards deploying
an Integrated GIS is being seen, by integrating the traditional GIS with other
business applications such as engineering management tools, mobile
workforce management system, outage management system, SCADA, and
analysis tools.
An integrated GIS builds seamless interoperability among GIS and other

systems to share data and services. Due to the growth in middleware
technology, GIS vendors have come up with adaptors and connectors to
middleware servers. This enables GIS to connect with multi-vendor supported
enterprise systems, thus making GIS, a true enterprise application.
Integrated GIS for Gas Distribution System

If a new pipeline is to be laid, a design can be prepared in GIS by the
engineering design department. It is also seen that there is a need to publish
this design for review or approval or execution to different departments.
During actual gas network layout, field engineers plan regular on-site
inspections. A field engineer can view the gas network details in a GIS map
on his personal digital assistant (PDA) and even enter comments, such as
incorrect positioning of a fitting, or changed owner name of a gas meter. This
has led to acceptance of web publishing technology for sharing data and
publishing field data and the unremitting advancement of mobile platforms for
field inspections.

Also, the growing need for a common workflow across various departments
has led to integration of GIS system with in-house dedicated systems. GIS
should integrate with operational support and service-delivery applications,
enabling these systems to cooperate seamlessly in managing planning,
design, construction, operations, maintenance, integrity, risk and emergency
response functions of gas distribution and pipeline networks. GIS at enterprise
level is required to provide geospatial data across the enterprise with full
integration at all levels of systems and applications with full access to view
and update data for a gas distribution system.
Additionally, there is a growing use of Internet GIS and industry standard

platforms. Another such paradigm is component based programming, which
provides state-of-art development environment for building custom
applications for easy system extendability and custom-made capability of a
modern GIS system. This increased the need for interoperability between
prevalent systems.
Hence, requirement for integrated GIS solutions for gas distribution is on the
rise. An integrated GIS empowers gas utilities to share information about
mains, services, cathodic sections or one-call tickets of any size instantly and
seamlessly across the enterprise. This helps in planning for safety system
such as cathodic protection for new pipelines or helps in locating all the
assets for a one-call ticket. Hence, an integrated GIS helps in fast decision-
making, maintain health of the system, improve customer service and
optimize business processes.
Challenges in Integrated GIS

A succinct life cycle of gas distribution network consists of following phases-
1) Planning gas network with regulation stations, mains, services, valves,
etc.
2) Creating an engineering design for the network, based on

a) Best cost model

b) Available material through enterprise resource planning (ERP)
system
3) Performing analysis on proposed and existing networks for optimization
4) Approving engineering designs
5) Procuring material
6) Field inspections during network construction
7) Energizing the as-built network
8) Service provisioning
9) Asset management
10) Gas outage management
11) Operations and maintenance
12) Leak analysis
13) Cathodic protection
Historically, various departments of a corporate enterprise using departmental

based systems carried out the above requirements individually. A new trend
of enterprise application integration paved way into this space integrating
different systems eliminating duplication of data and reducing complexity in
maintenance of several systems. In this streamlining, gas distribution
companies have concentrated on the need to include geospatial information.
Even the recent propagation of online maps, Global Positioning System
(GPS) and Location Based Services (LBS), all lean towards integrated GIS.
This also led to growth of spatially enabled databases. A new revolution thus
demands gas distribution companies to leverage integrated GIS to meet
above requirements.
An integrated GIS has interfaces to different enterprise systems to form a

single workflow, as can be seen below.

Industry Standard
Engineering Design Gas Distribution

Tools Analysis Tool
GIS for Gas

ERP & Application Databases
Distribution System
Servers
Customer
Information System Field GIS
Internet
Challenges come in the following situations:

1. Building a common data model across all products and applications
2. What common standards to be followed
3. Coordination between various departments
4. Lead time for licenses can be longer as it amounts to the last license
delivered
5. New installations/upgrades for individual systems is cumulative
In view of the above, trend now is to provide departmental-based systems

from a single vendor for gas distribution solution.
Single Vendor-based Integrated GIS is the future

A single vendor means a common data model and a common de facto
standard for all individual systems. Upgrades and releases are done at the
same time with out-of-box compatibility built within systems. Licenses can
also be received in a single-go, thus reducing otherwise long waiting time for

various systems. Some GIS vendors have realized the need for single vendor-
based systems for enterprises. One such vendor is GE Energy, which recently
released a product portfolio called Smallworld Office Suite. GE Energy’s office
suite for gas utilities has products such as, Smallworld Gas Distribution Office,
Smallworld Global Transmission office, Smallworld Design Manager for
engineering design, Smallworld Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) toolkit
for integration with legacy and other systems such as customer information
systems and gas analysis systems. It has Smallworld Internet Application
Server (SIAS) to publish gas distribution network information and maps on
Internet and intranet. It also consists of Smallworld Field Information System
that enables a field engineer to carry and update spatial information into the
field.
Usage of a GIS for planning and operational purposes is increasing by the

day in gas industry. Standards and specifications are continuing to evolve to
achieve smooth interoperability between various GIS and non-GIS
applications needed by the gas utilities. Based on the experiences of early
adopters, a clear trend is being seen in the form of the gas utilities preferring
an integrated GIS from a single vendor.
Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) on CGDNs

The PNGRB established on October 1, 2007 (appointed day) under the
PNGRB Act, 2006 is the downstream regulator, which amongst other
functions authorizes entities for laying, building, operating and expansion of
CGD Networks. In this respect, the CGD Networks which were in existence
prior to the appointed day are considered as deemed authorized. PNGRB has
notified following regulations governing the activities of CGD networks-
1. Regulations for authorizing entities to lay, build, operate or expand CGD

Networks
2. Regulations for authorizing network tariff and online compression charge
for CNG in respect CGD networks in existence as on the appointed day

3. Access code for CGD Networks

4. Technical Standards and Specifications including Safety Standards for
CGD networks
5. Affiliate code
6. Exclusivity for CGD Networks
These regulations have major impact on the way the CGD networks would
develop in future and can be studied in detail after downloading from the
website of the PNGRB (http://www.pngrb.gov.in/) under the scroll window
Orders/ Notifications. The salient features of these Regulations are discussed
as below.
Authorization Regulations classify the CGD networks before and after the
appointed day. In respect of the CGDNs existing before the appointed day,
the authorization would be decided in terms of the provision of Regulation 18
of the Authorization regulations. Therefore, the entity would have to
demonstrate already achieved physical progress of at least 25% and financial
commitment of 50% in terms of the approved DFR/ existing business plan as
on that day. CGDNs already authorized by MoP&NG (like, IGL, MGL, etc.) by
virtue of gas allocation would be deemed authorized as per provisions of
Regulation 17. Further, in respect of CGDNs proposed after the appointed
day, as per Regulation 5, such cases would be processed based on
evaluation of two-part bids received in response to the EOI by any entity for a
geographical area. The PNGRB can also suo-motu call for bidding for such
geographical areas as it may deem fit. PNGRB may decide to either go ahead
or modify or reject the EOI considering availability of natural gas and gas
transmission pipeline for brining natural gas to the proposed city gate. A
squatter advantage to any incumbent developer of a CGD network without
source of gas and pipeline would not be in the interest of competition and
customers. The geographical area proposed in the EOI is firmed-up through
public consultation process based on the principles of geographical contiguity
and techno-economic feasibility and could include municipal limits, city, town,

district or a combination thereof. The purpose of having a firmed-up GA is to

allow bidding on common parameters.
The technical criteria envisages requisite experience of laying, building,

operating or expansion (including for O&M) of CGD Networks or hydrocarbon
pipelines or having a credible plan (to be demonstrated) through technical tie-
up/ requisite technical manpower, minimum net-worth linked to the population
in the geographical area, etc. Thus, the regulations provide only a basic
hurdle to be crossed in order to become technically eligible and no weightage
is assigned to this criterion. The financial bidding has been envisaged with
weights against each of the following criteria requiring calculation of scores on
a relative scale-
Criterion Weightage Rationale

1 Lowness of PV of network 40% Network Tariff is tariff attributed to
tariff over economic life of pipelines in CGD network (including
25 years up to Last Mile Connectivity: riser to
burner tip of PNG domestic
household)
2 Lowness of PV of online 10% Online compression charge

compression charge for attributed to charge for compression
CNG over economic life of of CNG & recoverable in addition to
25 years network tariff from CNG consumers
only
3 Highness of PV of inch- 20% Inch-Kilometer implies sigma of

kilometer of steel pipelines product of outer diameter of steel
in CGD network during pipelines over their respective
period of exclusivity distances in CGD network & is
required upfront (before end of
exclusivity)
4 Highness of PV of PNG 30% PNG domestic connections bid each

domestic connections to be year of exclusivity period. Post-
bid during period of exclusivity PNG domestic
exclusivity connections on demand
Note:
a) The composite weighted score shall be calculated for all technically eligible bids on a
relative (percentile) basis.
b) The discount rate for the Present Value (PV) shall be 14%.
c) Bidder with highest composite score is the winner.

Thus, it may be observed that there is an equal weightage assigned to the

financial and technical criteria and the underlying logic is to promote quick and
upfront network infrastructure, incentivize balanced and integrated
development of network to meet future demand from all consumer segments
at lowest possible network tariffs and compression charge for CNG. Since the
price of natural gas is not regulated, the entity is free to adopt suitable
strategies for product pricing.
The Regulations also provide for volume restrictions on supply of natural gas
in the CGD network to an individual customer-
a) not exceeding 50,000 SCMD to be necessarily sourced from the CGD
network;
b) between 50,001 SCMD and 1,00,000 SCMD to be sourced as per
customer choice from the CGD network or any other supplier not through
the CGD network; and
c) Above 100,001 SCMD to be necessarily sourced from any supplier but not
through the CGD network.
The above volume restrictions are intended to ensure volume comfort to the
CGD network while also protecting the CGD network on the other hand
against network imbalances due to peaking requirements of a large volume
customer.
Entity authorized for a CGD network has a physical exclusivity of 25 years

implying that no other entity can lay, build, operate or expand in a CGD
network. This has the effect of imposing service obligation on the authorized
entity to ensure that future natural gas demand requirements of all consumer
segments in a GA are met through network expansion. A CGD network would
have customers with different volume requirements and affordable price of
natural gas, for example, an industrial customer may afford gas price at a
marginal discount to furnace oil, whereas a domestic customer may not be
willing to pay price for piped natural gas (for an annual volume requirement of

not be more than 110-140 SCM) more than the domestic LPG price, which is
subsidized. The economics of connecting an industrial load far exceeds that
of a domestic PNG connection in terms of the selling margins and volumes. A
commercial load may have LPG non-domestic as alternative fuel, which is not
subsidized. A CNG customer tends to see the economics based on the price
of automotive fuels, cost of conversion/ CNG kit, CNG availability, re-fuelling
comfort, mileage, etc. In order to prevent varying economics resulting in
“cherry picking” of customers, the PNGRB has ensured in the design of the
bidding parameters that maximum network coverage in a GA is assured
through upfront investments and on the other allowed a limited marketing
exclusivity” to the authorized entity for five years. During the pendency of such
period, no other entity can market its natural gas and after the end of such
period, the CGD network is opened for use by third parties on common carrier
or contract carrier on payment of network tariff and compression charge for
CNG.
The limited marketing exclusivity is envisaged for ensuring an integrated

development of network and provides the authorized entity upfront incentive
to quickly reach the industrial and commercial segments as well as CNG
market to ensure adequate revenue generation to service heavy debt burden
during initial years. The PNGRB Act, 2006 has also provided for segregation
of gas transmission and marketing activities, which implies that the entity may
be required to unbundle its regulated activities of network operation from the
unregulated activities of gas marketing. Such unbundling of services may
assume the form of accounting, legal, ownership or management control
segregations with an underlying position that the entity owning and controlling
monopoly assets (of gas network) should not, in the long-term, be in a
position to exercise significant market domination and gas marketing
opportunities are available to other shippers using the same network on
principles of common carrier or contract carrier so as to allow development of
competitive gas markets. In the short and medium term, the PNGRB has

provided that the entity would maintain separate books of accounts and not
engage in transfer pricing between regulated and non-regulated activities.
While the service obligations and stiff bidding conditions ensures the network
of pipelines covers all charge areas (sub-sets within a GA) and into the non-
lucrative domestic consumer segments. PNGRB has also stipulated quality of
service standards for protecting individual domestic consumer interests. For
example, requirement for display of network tariff and online compression
charge for CNG, consumer freedom to choose natural gas supplier post-
marketing exclusivity, refundable security deposit for PNG domestic
connection not to exceed Rs.5,000, connectivity on demand after the end of
marketing exclusivity, uniform network tariffs from all consumer segments
irrespective of volumes, etc. have been envisaged to protect domestic
consumer’s interests. The technical standards are aimed at having
compliance with the HSE issues both during and post commissioning phases.
The provisions of bid bond and performance bond (with 25% encashment on
first default, 50% on the next and top-up within 15 days of each default)
coupled with strict proviso for cancellation of authorization are aimed at
ensuring that entity remains committed to the development of CGD network
as well as the interests of consumer and third party shippers are protected.
Commercial issues in development and operations of a CGD Network

A CGD network is designed for meeting demand over its economic life of 25
years and significant investments are therefore required over the project’s life
cycle. Phasing of capex to meet demand is important to ensure optimum
asset utilization and generation of tariff revenues. The ability to reach all
consumer segments through pervasive and all-inclusive network development
and creation of demand for gas, sourcing of gas on most competitive terms,
outsourcing of non-critical operations, like invoicing and payment collection,
alternative revenue models (like, utilization of SCDA network for DTH,
telephony, internet, CRM, etc.) and quality of service would help the entity to
retain its market share post-marketing exclusivity.

Issues like policy on taxation of fuels, prices of alternative fuels, mandated

conversion to CNG, re-siting of polluting industries or conversion to natural
gas, expansion of city limits, development of industrial zones, single window
clearing mechanism for all statutory/ local governmental clearances impact
the economics of a CGD network. The entity also has an opportunity to
market natural gas in contiguous CGD networks after the end of marketing
exclusivity in such areas and with an aggressive marketing and pricing
policies can target cornering gas markets.
Optimization in a CGD network in terms of using existing retail pump outlets of

oil marketing companies and bus depots for setting-up online compressors,
daughter-booster stations and dispensers improves the economics of CNG. It
is important to note that an expanded gas market benefits all. Efforts should
be made to work with OEM to facilitate quicker and economical conversion to
natural gas both in the automotive and industrial segments. The entity also
need to work with service providers in creating of a seamless operational and
maintenance environment for vehicle engines, CNG kits and boilers including
periodic mandatory safety checks. Such initiatives go a long way in creating
consumer awareness and convenience, which in turn boosts demand for
natural gas.
Major threat to CNG is expected from Euro V fuels, which are expected to be
cleaner and are expected to become the mandated fuels in a few years time
and most of the Indian refineries are either already Euro V compliant or are
investing heavily to become so. Further, the increasing traffic congestions and
wasteful energy consumption are driving metro cities to develop mass rapid
transport systems, which may also impact the growth of auto fuel
consumption in the years to come. Therefore, unlike the experience of
Indraprastha Gas Limited, CNG may no longer be a key driver for boosting
the economics of a CGD network. A CGD network of future would therefore
need to focus on demand creation from domestic customers particularly from

large and up-scale real estate community development projects, shopping

malls, multiplexes and offices through innovative, economic and reliable
energy solutions, like power generation on distributed basis with air-
conditioning on combined cycle.

Chapter 3: Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)
This Chapter discusses on the concept of CNG as automotive fuel, comparison of CNG with other conventional fuels in
term of operational efficiency, economics, emissions and operating conditions, demand of CNG and its drivers, how gas is
compressed into CNG, operations in a CNG station, dispensing & transportation of CNG by cascades.
This chapter discusses the operating characteristics of automotive fuel

product Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), how natural gas is compressed into
CNG, CNG’s comparative operating efficiency & economics in relation to
other automotive fuels- MS & HSD, demand for CNG and its drivers, how
CNG is dispensed, main facilities in a CNG station operates and how CNG is
transported in cascades.
What is CNG? CNG stands for Compressed Natural Gas. It is a gaseous fuel
and is a mixture of hydrocarbons, mainly methane (simplest hydrocarbon) in
the range of 95%, it is much cleaner and efficient fuel. Due to its low density, it
is compressed to a pressure of 200 bar to enhance the vehicle on-board
storage capacity. It is safe owing to its inherent property of being lighter than
air, and therefore in case of leakage it disperses into the atmosphere rapidly.
Its high auto-ignition temperature of 540 degrees centigrade as against
petrol’s 360 degrees centigrade makes it even more safe fuel. CNG also has
a narrow inflammability range of 5% to 15%, making it much safer than other
fuels. CNG emissions being non-toxic, non-corrosive and non-carcinogenic,
its usage improves public health, as harmful exhaust gas emissions like
carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide which causes harmful
diseases like cancer, asthama etc. are significantly reduced. CNG also helps
in reducing the effects of global warming. CNG does not contaminate or dilute
crank case oil, giving engine an extended life besides increased life of
lubricating oils. Due to the absence of any lead or benzene content in CNG,
the lead fouling of spark plugs is eliminated.
For example, an engine running on petrol for 100 km emits 22,000 grams of
CO2, while covering the same distance on CNG emits only 16,275 grams of

CO2. [CNG is essentially methane, i.e. CH4 with a calorific value of 900 Kj/
mol. This burns with Oxygen to produce 1 mol of CO2 and 2 mol of H2O. By
comparison, petrol can be regarded as essentially Benzene or similar, C6H6
with a calorific value of about 3,300 Kj/mol and which burns to produce 6 mol
of CO2 and 3 mol of H2O. From this it can be seen that per mol of CO2
produced, CNG releases over 1.6 times as much energy as that released
from petrol (or for the same amount of energy, CNG produces nearly 40%
less CO2). The ability of CNG to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the
entire fuel lifecycle will depend on the source of the natural gas and the fuel it
is replacing.
All spark-ignited engines can be converted to CNG, for which a specially

designed conversion kit is required for the conversion process. The kit
consists of a cylinder to be fixed in the boot space/ under carriage of the
vehicle and other equipments to allow gas flow into the engine. Petrol-based
engines, on conversion have added advantage of duel-fuel flexibility. The cost
of converting a vehicle to CNG depends on the type of the vehicle and CNG
kit and the cost of conversion ranges between Rs 25,000 to Rs 40,000 for a
three-wheeler to a four-wheeler small vehicle. CNG cylinders are
manufactured from a special steel alloy and are seamless in construction.
Their compact size allows them to easily fit into a small car. An empty CNG
cylinder with a 50 litre-water-carrying capacity weighs 48 kg (approximately),
and has a length of 835 mm and a diameter of 316 mm. The 50 litre capacity
cylinder is the one most regularly used in CNG kits but cylinders with 45 litre,
55 litre, 60 litre and 65 litre capacity are used as well. A cylinder with a 50 litre
water-carrying capacity is capable of carrying approximately 9 kg of CNG.
This is equivalent to 12.5 litres of petrol and will allow a run of about 150-160
km for a medium sized 1300 CC car. An electronic fuel gauge fitted on the
dashboard which is part of the conversion kit indicates the quantity of CNG
left in the cylinder. On an average, vehicle owners lose about one third of their
boot space when a car is converted to CNG. The boot space also depends
upon the size of vehicle and cylinder make. CNG cylinders are designed and

built in such a way so as to withstand high pressure. The maximum pressure

in a CNG cylinder is up to 200 bar. CNG cylinders are safe as they are
manufactured as per specific requirements and tested before use, in
accordance with international specifications and standards, and are duly
approved by the Chief Controller of Explosives. Moreover, they are provided
with a pressure relief device (PRD) that consists of a fusible plug and a burst
disc that ruptures in case of extremely high pressure and temperature. CNG
kit is safe and simple and is designed to give years of trouble free operation
without frequent servicing. As per Gas Cylinder Rules, 1981, the cylinder
should undergo hydro-stretch testing every 5 years to check pressure
tolerance. Cylinders used for storing gas are designed with very high safety
factor in accordance with global standards. These cylinders are tested and
certified for usage by statutory authorities and each cylinder is defined with an
expiry date of usage after which they are to be tested again for safe use and
can also be retrofitted into another vehicle. These cylinders have been
designed to take impact of collision in case of accidents.
Price of CNG is lesser than other fuels and also it enhances the mileage,
making it the more economical fuel. However, CNG prices are of late
becoming highly sensitive to natural gas prices (domestic natural gas prices
are increasingly getting impacted to high LNG prices), taxation, cost of laying
pipeline network and expensive CNG compressors and dispensing facilities,
CNG kit costs, etc.
Economics of CNG (Bus in Kerala)

Option 1 Option 2 Option 3
R-LNG Domestic
Pooled Kochi KG-6
FOB Price $/ MMBtu 11.60 4.20
Boil-off Gas " 3.00% 0.35
Ocean Freight " 0.83
CIF Price " 12.78 4.20
Customs Duty " 5.15% 0.64
Re-gasification charges " 1.83
Ex-Terminal Price/ Land-fall point
price " 12.18 15.25 4.20

Marketing Margin " 0.19 0.19 0.14

VAT 12.5% for R-LNG/ CST @2% " 12.50% 0.24 1.91 0.08
12.61 17.35 4.42
Pipeline Tariff (Inclusive of service
charges) " 10.30% 2.76 1.43 2.54
Delivered Price at City Gate " 15.37 18.78 6.95
NCV to GCV " 6.26
Say (AT 1 USD=Rs.45) Rs./ MMBTU 691.45 845.14 281.83
Say Rs./ SCM 24.89 30.43 10.15
Add: Network Tariff (&) " 3.00 3.00 3.00
Price of Gas inclusive of Network
Tariff (&) " 27.89 33.43 13.15
Rs./ Kg 32.85 40.17 13.40
Add: Online Compression Charge (CC) " 4.00 4.00 4.00
Price of Gas inclusive of Online CC " 36.85 44.17 17.40
Add: Excise Duty " 14.42% 5.31 6.37 2.51
CNG Price inclusive of Excise Duty " 42.16 50.54 19.91
Add: Marketing Margin " 17.29% 5.68 6.95 2.32
CNG Price inclusive of Marketing
Margin 47.84 57.49 22.23
VAT on CNG net of VAT on R-LNG 12.5% 5.03 4.41 2.41
RSP of CNG 52.87 61.90 24.64
Mileage per Kg of CNG Kms 4.20 4.20 4.20
CNG Cost per Km Rs./ Km 12.59 14.74 5.87
CNG Fuel & Maintenance Cost per
(A) Km " 0.50% 12.65 14.81 5.90
Retail Selling Price of HSD Rs./ Ltr 38.97 38.97 38.97

Mileage per Litre of HSD Kms 3.50 3.50 3.50
Fuel Cost per Km Rs./ Km 11.13 11.13 11.13
HSD Fuel & Maintenance Cost per
(B) Km Rs./ Km 0.50% 11.19 11.19 11.19
Savings in Fuel & Maintenance

(B)-(A) cost per Km Rs./ Km (1.46) (3.62) 5.29
Running over useful life (*) Kms 475,200 475,200 475,200
Savings over useful life Rs./ Lakh (6.94) (17.20) 25.14

Cost of New CNG Bus Rs./ Lakh 40 40 40
Less: Capital subsidy under JNNURM 50% 20 20 20
Less: Residual value after 8 years 10% 4 4 4
Net Investment 16 16 16
Investment Payback for KSRTC -43% -108% 157%
Assumptions
1 Changes in price of natural gas, VAT/ Excise duty and price of HSD is a pass-though in CNG price.
2 Passenger tariffs cover the cost of CNG fuel, maintenance and fixed cost of CNG bus.
(&) As a result of competitive bidding
(*) 180 Kms/ day for 330 days for 8 yrs
(**) Assumption of 50% upfront subsidy
Physical comparisons between CNG and other liquid auto fuels are shown
below:-

Properties Unit Petrol Diesel LPG CNG

Relative density Water = 1 0.74 0.84 0.55 -
Relative density Air =1 - - 1.285 0.64
Auto-ignition
Temperature Degree C 360 280 374 540
Flammability Range % in Air 1-8 0.6-5.5 2.2-9.0 5-15
Flame Temperature Degree C 2,030 1,780 1,983 1,900
Octane Number - 87 - 93 127
Toxic to skin & lungs Moderate Moderate No No
Factors that influence demand for CNG
a) Legislative enablement for use of cleaner fuel to reduce pollution
b) Long-term price differential and economics between CNG and MS/ HSD/
Auto LPG price, particularly with reference to taxation on CNG
c) Cost of conversion/ retrofitting
d) Ease of CNG availability
e) Effective check on alleged diversion of domestic LPG cylinders for

commercial and transport usage
f) Effect of CNG conversion on performance of a vehicle, i.e., increase in the

weight because of the increased weight thus reducing pick up
g) Assurance of supply and price
h) Usage of retrofit CNG kit vis-à-vis OEM kit

i) Initiatives by vehicle manufacturers to launch CNG variants as OEMs
Compression of Natural Gas
Compressor types
a) Mother Compressor (1600 SCMH)

Generally these are reciprocating type compressors, each of capacity
1600 SCMH at suction pressure of 19 bar and discharge pressure of 255
bar installed at mother station. Compressor are driven by gas engine of
capacity about 202 Kw having gas consumption of 55 SCMH. The
compressor are configured to start automatically in case cascade pressure
fails less than 210 bar and will unload at pressure 255 bar.
Main Specification/ Features

 The modern compressors are of 3-Stage reciprocating type with
console type air cooling and safety relief valve at each stage, after
cooler at final discharge along with all services lines, tubing, valves,
instrument and auxiliaries.
 Mother compressors have mass flow meters both at suction and
discharge to avoid separate metering skids for the stations and thereby
economizing on cost and space.
 Gas engine has air and coolant/ water based cooling system; gas flow
meter with electronic volume corrector, totalizer and associated
equipment.
 Control system ensures unattended safe operation in automatic mode.
Priority fill system ensures maximum flow rate by filling of vehicle,
storage cascade and mobile cascade in assigned order.
 Entire compressor equipment is mounted on one skid and packaged in
an acoustically insulated housing

 The engine and compressor are housed in the same package unit with
a partition wall. The housing is flame & fire proof and provided with
forced ventilation, flame arrestor, infra-red flame detection & alarm
System, automatic shutoff, automatic CO2 flooding and other fire
retardant features.
 The compressor is provided with the required control system using
PLC, air compressor for start up & pneumatic control; instrumentation
and controls; emergency shut down device and electric supply system.
 Entire compressor system is earthed.
b) On-line Compressor (1200 SCMH)

Online compressors are reciprocating type compressors, each of capacity
1200 SCMH at suction pressure 19 bar and discharge pressure 255 bar
with same features as of mother compressor.
c) Daughter Booster Compressor (250 SCMH)

To increase the dispensing speed & reduce waiting time for filling at
daughter station and better utilization of cascade capacity, hydraulic/
reciprocating type motor driven compressor of capacity 250 SCMH at
suction pressure of 30 bar is provided at daughter station. This booster
compressor operates at mobile cascade pressure/ suction pressure from
30 to 200 bar with discharge pressure of about 255 bar.
CNG Stations, Dispensing of CNG & CNG Transportation in Cascades
The CNG station configuration and equipment configuration are as under-
Mother Station On-line Station Daughter Booster

Station
a) Main Equipment a) Main Equipment a) Main Equipment
 Mother  On-line Compressor  Booster
Compressors along along with Compressor along
with auxiliaries auxiliaries with auxiliaries
 Dispenser for buses  Dispensers for  Dispensers for cars

 Dispensers for cars buses (only in case and three wheelers

and three-wheelers of 1200 SCMH (autos)
(autos) compressor)  Stationary
 Loading Facility for  Dispensers for cars Cascades
Mobile Cascades and three-wheelers  DG Set, UPS &
 Stationary Cascades (autos) Battery Bank, AVR,
 DG Set, UPS &  Stationary Electrical Control
Battery Bank, AVR, Cascades Panel
Electrical Control  DG Set, UPS &  Instrument Air and
Panel Battery Bank, AVR, Water Facilities
 Instrument Air and Electrical Control  Fire Fighting
Water Facilities Panel equipment and
 Fire Fighting  Instrument Air and safety sign
equipment and Water Facilities  Unloading facility
safety sign  Fire Fighting from mobile
 Stainless steel tube equipment and cascades
connecting safety sign
compressor,
dispenser &
cascades laid in
 U/G trenches
b) Other Facilities b) Other Facilities b) Other Facilities

 Office-cum-Control  Office-cum-Control  Office-cum-Control
Room Room Room
 RCC forecourt,  RCC forecourt,  RCC forecourt,
canopy over canopy over canopy over
dispenser island and dispenser island dispenser island and
signages and signages signages
 Stainless steel tube  U/G drainage and  Stainless steel tube
connecting sewerage network connecting
compressor,  Approach/ exit road, compressor,
dispenser & boundary wall etc. dispenser &
cascades laid in cascades laid in
 U/G trenches  U/G trenches
 U/G drainage and  U/G drainage and
sewerage network sewerage network.
 Approach/ exit road,  Approach/ exit road,
boundary wall etc. boundary wall etc.
Dispensers
Compressed Natural Gas from compressor/ cascade is dispensed to NGVs
(Natural Gas vehicles) such as cars, three wheelers, buses, etc, through
dispensers of following types-
a) Bus Dispenser

Bus dispenser is a single arm dispenser of 80 kg/ min dispensing capacity

to meet the requirement of bus filling at mother stations. The system is
designed in such a way that, when compressors are in operation, the bus
dispenser will take about 65 kg/ min gas from cascade and about 15 kg/
min gas from compressor.
b) Car Dispenser
To meet the requirement of car and three wheeler filling at mother station,
online station and daughter stations, double arm type car/ auto dispensers,
each with a capacity of 15 kg/min are provided.

(i) The car dispenser has two arms and bus dispenser shall have one arm
for dispensing the gas.
(ii) 'Coriolis' true mass flow metering system or equivalent with necessary
sensor & electronics has provisions of liquid crystal backlit display for
night viewing to show unit price of CNG in Rs./kg, quantity of gas sold
in kg & total sale in Rupees.
(iii) Temper proof totalizer is also provided
(iv) PLC based sequencing software and controller including hardware
along with ball valves associated with pneumatic actuation for
dispensing of gas.
(v) Two CNG flexible electrically conductive twins fill and vent hoses with
two NGV-1 Type-2, Class - A fill nozzle with captive vent including 3-
Way vent.
(vi) All dispensers are earthed.
c) Stationary Cascade
Cascades are used to store the CNG at high pressure, to absorb the surge
of reciprocating compressor and prevent frequent start and stop of
compressor and to supply additional gas when dispensing rate is more
than compressor capacity. Compressor starts if pressure in cascade falls

below 210 bar and stop at pressure 255 bar. For a pressure range of 220
bar to 255 bar, in cascades of 4500 liter, about 750 Kg of CNG can be
stored. The cascade can supply gas to bus as well as car/ auto
dispensers.

(i) Cascade is made of group of cylinders fixed with structural steel frame
having facility of lifting and placement.
(ii) The cylinder and their neck threading is designed as per IS: 7285-1988
& IS: 3224-1979, respectively, and approved by Chief Controller of
Explosives (CCOE), Government of India.
(iii) The cylinder shutoff valve is of fusible disc confirming to requirements
of IS: 3224 or CCOE approved.
(iv) All end connections for quick release couplings, PG, valves and fittings
of cascade are within tamper proof enclosure, which are on one side of
cascade for ease of operation.
d) Mobile cascade
Mobile cascade is a 3,000 liter water capacity fitted in a light commercial
vehicle and is filled at Mother Station up to 255 bar pressure and is ferried
to daughter station for gas dispensing up to a pressure of 30 bar. Empty
mobile cascade at pressure lower than 30 bar returns to mother station for
re-filling. A mobile cascade can transport about 400 kg of CNG.
DG Set, UPS & Battery Back-up & AVR- To meet the requirement of
emergency power in case of grid power failure, each station has provided
with a DG set of capacity 7.5 Kw. The DG set is configured to start
automatically in case of grid power failure and emergency loads are
connected to DG set. Additionally UPS and battery back-up system are
also provided at each station. A suitable automatic voltage regulator based
on local supply provides stabilization to electric flows.

Electrical System- The electrical system comprises of conduit work

including junction boxes, wiring for lighting and power; fittings &
accessories; cables, mains and sub-mains; LT panel, main & sub-
distribution panels, capacitor panels; cable trays, GI conduits; earthing
system; area lighting, canopy lighting; signage lighting & control room
illumination, etc.
SS Tubing- SS tubing runs in underground concrete/ masonry trenches for

conveying of compressed gas from compressor to priority panel to
dispenser and priority panel to stationary cascade to dispenser. Generally
these are in 1/2", 3/4" or 1" size tubes of SS 316 grade having ‘swage lock’
type fittings.
Water Supply & Underground Services- To meet the water requirement at

mother stations, water supply network consisting of bore well, vertical
pumps, submersible pumps and interconnecting piping are provided to
receive water from municipality and bore well. Water from these tanks is
pumped to overhead tanks- placed at building roof. Underground drainage,
sewerage network comprising of drain pits, drainage pipe, septic tank and
soak pit are installed apart from municipal connections.
Control Room & Other Facilities- A RCC framed structure of suitable size
is required to house office, control room, electrical room, cash box and
toilet. The station is enclosed with 2.1 m high boundary wall with the front
side having a glazed partition for viewing dispensing operation and the
forecourt is made of high riding quality RCC pavement with wearing
resistant surface. Properly designed dispenser island with safety guards
are provided with structural steel canopy over the dispensing area for
providing sun and rain protection. The canopy has provision of roof
drainage, illumination and signage’s. The station is designed with suitable
approach roads, entry and exit ways, parking bay, operation area fence,

safety barbs, road signs, station drainage system, safety & fire fighting
equipment, Earthing pits and safety instructions.

Chapter 4: Piped Natural Gas (PNG) for Domestic, Commercial &

Industrial Consumers
Lastly, this Chapter discusses the possible uses of piped natural gas in a CGD network.
With only one carbon and four hydrogen atoms per molecule (Methane)
Natural Gas is a composition of hydrocarbons (Almost 95% Methane & rest
other Hydro Carbons). Its calorific value generally ranges from 8000 kcal/m3
to 9000 kcal/m3, Natural Gas has the lowest carbon to hydrogen ratio, and
hence it burns completely, making it more environment friendly fuel.
Colour Colourless
Odour Odourless (For easy detection through smell,
Ethyl Mercaptan is added as Odourant)
Melting point -182oC
Boiling point -161.5oC
Vapor density 0.6 to 0.7 (with respect to air)
Flammability ratio 5 to 15% by volume in air
Auto ignition temp 540oC
Applications of PNG in a CGD Network
Domestic segment
a) Cooking fuel
b) Water heating
c) Space heating
Hotels
a) Restaurants
b) Big hotels
c) Caterers
d) Bakeries
Industries

a) Metal (Melting, heat treatment, pre-heating of ingots, powder coating,

moulding/ casting, fabrication, gas cutting, smelting, welding, pyro
processing, forging)
b) Pharmaceutical (steam generation & spray drying)
c) Printing and Dyeing (drying of inks, pre-printing/ post-printing)
d) Oil Mills (steam generation, distillation & refining)
e) Food and Beverages (steam generation, baking & processing)
f) FMCG products manufacturers (steam generation & waste heat treatment)
g) Paint shops
h) Glass industry
i) Furnace & Boilers
j) Industrial oven
k) Powder coating ovens
l) Air conditioning (vapor absorption machine, centralized cooling)
Hospitals
a) Small Clinics
b) Big Hospitals
Charitable Trusts
a) Temples, Church, Gurudwara
b) Govt. Hospitals
c) Crematoriums
d) Orphanage
e) Schools & Colleges
Power
a) Micro gas turbines
b) Gas Gensets
c) Combined heat & power generation
Some of the major benefits of using PNG:

a) Uninterrupted supply
The source of PNG supply in a CGD Network is through online (from main
transmission pipeline into the city gate and onwards into the grid of
pipelines. The production of natural gas in oilfields is uninterrupted as well
as in case of LNG, the supply is secured through long-term take-or-pay
contracts, this along with line-fill at each level ensures continuous supply.
As compared to LPG, PNG does not require any bottling in cylinders and
subsequent re-fills, waiting time, deliveries, connecting/ dis-connecting
inconvenience, leakage, under-weight, left-over and besides saves on
space.
b) Safety
The combustible mixture of natural gas and air does not ignite if the
mixture is leaner than 5% and richer than 15% of the air-fuel ratio required
for ignition. This narrow inflammability range makes PNG one of the safest
fuels in the world. Natural gas is lighter than air. Therefore, in case of a
leakage, it just rises and disperses into thin air given adequate ventilation.
Comparatively LPG being heavier will settle at the bottom near the floor
surface. A large quantity of LPG is stored in liquefied form in a cylinder.
With PNG, it is safer since PNG installation in the domestic premises
contains only a limited quantity of natural gas at low pressure i.e. 21
millibar (mbar). On leakage, LPG expands 250 times, which is not the
case with PNG. Supply in PNG can be switched off through appliance
valve (inside the kitchen) and isolation valve (outside kitchen premises),
which fully cuts off the gas supply.
c) Billing
User charge is based on PNG consumed as reflected in the meter and no
pilferage is possible with PNG as the billing is done according to the meter
readings.

d) Lower maintenance cost

Maintenance costs are driven down since with PNG, soot or ash
accumulation and greasy spillages are absent from the appliance.

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Chapter 2 City Gas Distribution (CGD) Network

Chapter 3 Compressed Natural Gas

Chapter 4 Piped Natural Gas (PNG) for Domestic, Commercial

City Gas Distribution 1

Chapter 1: Natural Gas in Overall Energy Scenario of India

The distribution of primary commercial energy resources in India is quite

City Gas Distribution 2

consumption front, the industrial sector in India is a major energy user

Natural Gas Industry

Natural Gas sector in India is in a critical stage of development and has

City Gas Distribution 3

Natural gas is a mixture of hydrocarbon gases and is a colorless, odorless

Natural gas is fast emerging as an alternative; it meets around 9% of the

City Gas Distribution 4

Exploration and Production (E&P) sector of India

City Gas Distribution 5

LNG supply scenario in India

Advantage of using Natural Gas

City Gas Distribution 6

City Gas Distribution 7

Chapter 2: City Gas Distribution (CGD) Network

Evolution of CGD in India

City Gas Distribution 8

City Gas Distribution 9

Demand Drivers for CGD Networks

City Gas Distribution 10

Large scale conversion of petrol driven private vehicles to CNG, introduction

City Gas Distribution 11

Gas Transmission & Distribution System

b) Distribution mains supply gas primarily to residential, commercial, and

City Gas Distribution 12

District Regulation Station are installed where the distribution is to be done

City Gas Distribution 13

chemical composition of natural gas. It is estimated that vehicles on the road

Designing of a CGD Network

City Gas Distribution 14

City Gate Station

Some of the major installations at CGS are described below-

City Gas Distribution 15

Main Grid Line

Cathodic Protection System

City Gas Distribution 16

used as "passive" protection. Complete corrosion protection cannot be

Cathodic protection is a method for protecting the pipe reliably even at

City Gas Distribution 17

f) Interference effects, wherever suspected or observed are duly investigated

a) District Regulatory Stations (DRS)

b) HDPE pipe network

City Gas Distribution 18

pressure. For industrial areas large diameter PE100, SDR11 pipelines

The Distribution network is divided in two categories as per operating

c) Medium Pressure Distribution Mains

d) Low Pressure distribution services

City Gas Distribution 19

e) Natural Gas Connection and Gas Metering

(i) Domestic Connection

(ii) Commercial Connection