The government on Tuesday increased the price of natural gas produced from old gas fields (APM gas). According to the official order, now the price of gas extracted from these fields has been increased from $6.75/MMBTU to $7/MMBTU. The move is aimed at ensuring fair prices in the energy sector taking into account production costs and supply balance. This price has been increased for Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India Limited.
Increase for financial year 2025-26
This amendment has been made as per the pricing mechanism approved in 2023. Under the new rules, the price of gas produced from nomination blocks of ONGC and OIL will be fixed at 10 per cent of the monthly average price of the Indian crude basket and will be announced on a monthly basis. The APM gas price of nomination areas was capped at a minimum of $4/MMBtu and a maximum of $6.5/MMBtu. For the financial year 2025-26, it has now been increased from $6.75 to $7/MMBtu.
APM gas price will remain limited to this
According to the Oil Ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), the domestic natural gas price for April 2026 on a gross heat value (GCV) basis is $10.76/MMBtu, but the APM gas price of nomination areas will be capped at a maximum of $7/MMBtu during this period. Natural gas is used in fertilizer manufacturing, power generation, CNG vehicle fuel, domestic cooking gas and as various industrial raw materials.
Maximum price is declared twice
The government has also allowed 20 per cent premium in APM prices on new wells and well intervention in nomination blocks vide notification dated April 7, 2023. Additionally, gas produced in difficult areas such as deepwater, ultra-deepwater and high-pressure-high-temperature (HPHT) fields can be sold at a higher price than APM. Their maximum price is declared by PPAC twice a year. From October 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026, this limit was fixed at $9.72/MMBtu. PPAC has not yet announced the ceiling price for the period April 2026 to September 2026.