Petrotech 2019 – the 13th international oil and natural gas conference and exhibition – was held at the India Expo Mart at Noida during the past week. On the sidelines of this event, Dharmendra Pradhan, minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, has launched the Dealer Owned Dealer Operated (DODO) model for setting up CNG stations. He released the general guidelines for the schemes, under which the entire earmarked dealer plot shall be developed exclusively to help set up CNG stations and allied commercial activities at the discretion of CGD (City Gas Distribution) activities.

The scheme will cover 87 geographical areas serviced by 23 authorised entities. After the 9th round of CGD bidding, more than 4,600 new CNG stations are expected to be set-up across India in next eight years. The 10th round of CGD bidding envisages covering 50 areas – 124 districts spread over 14 states – accounting for 24 percent of India’s area and 18 percent of its population. After the 10th round of bidding, 53 percent of the country’s area and 70 percent of its population will have access to CGD networks. As more and more CNG stations come up, more than 10 percent of them may be based on the DODO model.

Speaking at the announcement, Dharmendra Pradhan said that India is moving toward a natural-gas-based economy, as this fuel is cheaper and pollutes less. The PNGRB (Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory board) has undertaken an unprecedented expansion of the CGD network. This will lead to more gas pipelines being laid out, an increased production and easier availability of the gas, and also last-mile connectivity of the infrastructure to provide CNG and PNG to the consumers. The minister called upon investors and private players, urging them to participate in the growth of a gas-based economy by using the opportunity provided through DODO.