Government has asked Reliance Industries [Get Quote] to supply natural gas from its eastern offshore KG-D6 field first to fertilizer units, LPG plants and existing power plants in that order.

An empowered group of ministers has decided that all gas produced from areas awarded under New Exploration Licensing Policy would have to sell the fuel 'in accordance with the marketing priorities determined by the government,' an official statement said.

The EGoM has fixed priority for the 25 million standard cubic metes per day of gas Reliance plans to start pumping from September this year and 40 mmscmd from March 2009.

It has asked the company to first supply gas from KG-D6 field, the first major field of NELP to go on production, to existing gas-based urea plants, which are now getting fuel below their full requirement.

After urea plants, a maximum quantity of 3 mmscmd would be supplied to existing gas-based LPG plants and thereafter up to 18 mmscmd to gas-based power plants that were lying idle/under-utilized or likely to be commissioned in 2008-09, or liquid fuel plants, which are now running on liquid fuel and could switch over to natural gas.

A maximum quantity of 5 mmscmd would be made available to City Gas Distribution projects for supply of Piped Natural Gas to households and compressed natural gas in transport sector, the statement said.

Any additional gas available, beyond these categories would be supplied to existing gas-based power plants, as their requirement is more than 18 mmscmd, the statement added.