Chennai, NFAPost: AG&P, the global downstream LNG and gas logistics company, has announced the opening of the first two Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) stations in HPCL at Semmamdam, Rameswaram, Ramanathapuram, and IOCL at Senthil filling station at Mandapam road, near GSM mall, Ramnathapuram under its brand AG&P Pratham.
The AG&P Pratham station will provide almost any vehicle, including cars, auto-rickshaws and heavy-duty transit vehicles such as buses and trucks, access to CNG, for the very first time.
CNG offers compelling economics for vehicle-owners. CNG is a significantly lower-cost fuel compared to petrol and diesel. CNG helps vehicle owners generate considerable savings as it offers markedly improved mileage, a reduction in maintenance costs and superior efficiency.
Petrol costs Rs 80 – 90 per liter and gives a mileage of 14 -17 km per liter. CNG prices range from Rs 50 – 60 per kg and a CNG-fueled car can run up to 20 – 25 km per kg, offering mileage that is 30 -35% more compared to petrol cars. With the savings generated on daily refueling in addition to the lower maintenance costs, it results in savings for vehicle-owners of approximately Rs 2,000 – 3,000 every week, depending on the kilometers travelled.
Auto-rickshaw drivers and taxi and car rental owners, for both AC and non-AC car models, report up to a 55% increase in their savings after switching from petrol to CNG. Furthermore, CNG is safer than traditional fuels. It has the strongest safety record, because of its non-toxic and lighter-than-air quality that causes it to disperse and thus reduce the risk of fire. And, it is non-polluting, the company said in a release.
Manish Goswami, Chief Operations Officer, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu & Andhra Pradesh, and Head–Technical Services said, “We are honoured to announce the opening of AG&P Pratham’s first two CNG stations in Rameswaram and Ramanathapuram. We sincerely thank our partners HPCL, IOCL and BPCL as well as the local authorities for their invaluable support in bringing the CNG infrastructure to the rural communities of Tamil Nadu. Our CNG stations will ensure that vehicle owners in regional Tamil Nadu have easy access to this economic fuel.”
He added, “Our AG&P Pratham CNG stations will establish a ‘clean and green’ corridor between Madurai and Rameswaram, a popular pilgrimage route for tourists, boosting eco-tourism, while helping reduce pollution and improving air quality. We expect to see an increasing and accelerated switch to CNG-fueled vehicles and create cleaner communities.”
AG&P Pratham will be opening one more CNG station before the end of the year. The station will be located at BPCL, ECR Junction, Ramanathapuram.
Development of rural areas has been a key focus area for the government, leading to the implementation of City Gas Distribution projects across the country with the aim of improving infrastructure, accelerating industrialisation, driving economic development and overall, improving the quality of life of millions of Indians. The Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) awarded AG&P the exclusive rights for City Gas Distribution infrastructure development in Ramanathapuram District for the next 25 years, covering the supply of CNG for vehicles, as well as piped natural gas (PNG) for residential, industrial and commercial use.
AG&P holds 12 CGD licences awarded by the PNGRB to exclusively provide natural gas for everyday use in 31 districts in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Rajasthan. These exclusive rights cover the supply of PNG to households, industrial, commercial, non-commercial and non-domestic exempt commercial (NDEC) establishments, and CNG for use in vehicles. Under the brand name AG&P Pratham, when fully operational the CGD networks will cover 278,000 square kilometers, 17,000 inch-km of pipeline and over 1,500 new CNG stations.
