Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu, India | 22nd January 2021: AG&P, the global downstream LNG and gas logistics company, today announced the opening of Tamil Nadu’s first ever Natural Gas Mother Station, in Ramanathapuram under its brand AG&P Pratham. The new Mother Station, located at Valantharavi, will receive natural gas directly from the nearby GAIL gas treatment facility and will be distributed by commercial trucks to CNG stations across the district. The virtual pipeline will allow the public immediate access to natural gas, a clean and cost-effective fuel.
AG&P Pratham will serve the PNGRB declared 6 districts out of the 12 districts in Tamil Nadu, namely, Kanchipuram, Changalpattu. Vellore, Ranipet and Tirupathur. With a line booster compressor of capacity 1500 SCMH and a CNG compressor of capacity 1200 SCMH, the AG&P Pratham Mother Station in Ramanathapuram will operate 24/7. AG&P is also working closely with its partner companies, HPCL, BPCL, IOCL, and OEMs, retrofitters, among others, to ensure reliable supply of gas to the districts. AG&P Pratham’s Mother Station will initially supply compressed natural gas to CNG stations, giving vehicles access to a superior fuel in place of costlier and heavy polluting fuels such as diesel and petrol.
Speaking at the opening of AG&P Pratham’s Mother Station, Manish Goswami, AG&P’s Chief Operations Officer for Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh & Rajasthan said, “We are honored to announce the opening of Tamil Nadu’s first Natural Gas Mother Station, and thank the Tamil Nadu Government and local authorities for their invaluable support in bringing this important CNG infrastructure to this district. Our Mother Station will power AG&P Pratham’s City Gas Distribution network, as well as supply gas to other CGD gas infrastructure companies to meet the growing demand for cleaner energy in the state.”
CNG can be used in almost all vehicles, including cars, auto-rickshaws and heavy-duty transit vehicles such as buses and trucks. CNG is also safer than traditional fuels, because it is non-toxic and lighter than air, enabling it to easily disperse into the atmosphere, reducing the risk of fire. CNG offers better fuel-efficiency, significantly improved mileage and a reduction in maintenance costs. CNG-fuelled auto-rickshaw drivers, taxi drivers and car rental owners, for both AC and non-AC car models, have reported up to 55% increase in their savings and earnings.
In 2018 as part of the Government’s City Gas Distribution bidding process, the PNGRB granted AG&P the exclusive license to develop the CGD networks in Ramanathapuram, Kanchipuram and Vellore, covering ~14500 square km of Tamil Nadu. Under the licenses, AG&P will sell natural gas exclusively for eight years and operate its CGD infrastructure exclusively for 25 years. AG&P has already opened two CNG stations in Ramanathapuram district and plans to open 30 more in Tamil Nadu by the end of 2021.
