State-owned ONGC plans to form a subsidiary for the gas business and pick up a 5 per cent stake in Indian Gas Exchange Ltd (IGX) as strategic investment in a bid to tap the potential in the clean energy space.

‘‘The subsidiary is being formed with the objective of sourcing, marketing and trading of natural gas, LNG business, Hydrogen enriched CNG (HCNG), gas to power business, bio-energy/bio-gas/bio methane and other biofuels business,” the company statement said.

ONGC said its board has also approved the acquisition of a 5 per cent equity in Indian Gas Exchange Ltd (IGX) as strategic investment.

IGX is a subsidiary of IEX, India’s first and leading power exchange.

IGX Ltd is at present India’s first and only authorised gas exchange, which provides an automated platform for the trading of natural gas, covering a wide range of products.

‘‘As an important stakeholder in the gas sector, it would be critical for ONGC to participate in the gas exchange for development of the gas sector. ONGC’s interests towards realising maximum value from its gas marketing efforts may be substantiated through this first gas trading platform in India,” it said.

Profit down 67%

The exploration firm reported an over 67 per cent fall in the December quarter net profit on the back of a drop in oil

and gas prices. The standalone net profit in the October-December quarter stood at Rs 1,378 crore compared with Rs 4,226 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

Turnover was down 28 per cent at Rs 17,024 crore.