Confidence Petroleum Natural gas

Confidence Petroleum India

Confidence Petroleum India Limited, the flagship company of Confidence Group, has entered into a 50:50 joint venture with Energtek Inc, world leaders in natural gas (NG) and adsorbed natural gas (ANG) technology to provide clean and affordable pipeless natural gas supply to automotive and industrial consumers. The Confidence Petroleum Group is involved in the business of manufacturing LPG cylinders and bottling, marketing and blending of LPG, auto LPG cylinder manufacturing and auto LPG dispensing for more than a decade. The company also provides logistical support to PSU oil majors at national level. Energtek Inc., is a US based company with subsidiaries in the US, India, Ukraine, and Israel.

ANG technology

ANG technology provides cost-effective storage of NG, by maximising tank storage capabilities. ANG technology utilises activated carbons placed inside the tank to adsorb greater quantities of gas, similar to a sponge. Use of ANG technology creates two possibilities: similar volumes of gas can be stored in the same container at a lower pressure significantly reducing the costs of refuelling infrastructure, and fuel costs for the driver. Plus, lower pressure allows greater flexibility in NG tank design (as opposed to standard cylindrical NG tanks); and larger volumes of NG can be stored in the same container, at the same pressure enabling vehicles to significantly increase driving range, without increasing the size of the tank.

In the first phase of the joint venture, Confidence Petroleum will make an investment of Rs 100 crore for co-ownership of Energtek’s subsidiary Primecyl LLC. A new fully owned subsidiary of Primecyl LLC, “Confi Energtek Asia Ltd”, will be established in India to carry the JV businesses in India and throughout Southeast Asia which includes Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines and Pakistan. Primecyl LLC is also the owner of Ukcyl Ltd., a manufacturing facility for high-pressure cylinders in Ukraine.

Commenting on this JV, Mr Nitin Khara, Chairman and Managing Director, Confidence Petroleum India Limited said, “We are Asia’s largest LPG cylinder manufacturer and also a leading parallel LPG bottler in India. Keeping in line with our growth strategy, we are aggressively planning to establish ourselves in the natural gas energy segment. This JV is one step towards achieving our goals.”

While expressing great delight at Confidence Petroleum’s investment into Primecyl and the formation of a JV, Mr Lev Zaidenberg, Chief Executive Officer, Energtek Inc., said, “This agreement allows Energtek and Confidence Petroleum to combine the technology, manufacturing, and marketing resources needed to provide a natural gas supply solution that is financially beneficial to energy consumers across Asia.” Energtek provides proprietary solutions to meet the technical and economical challenges of NG delivery to vehicles worldwide, with a major focus on the 2- and 3-wheel vehicle market in Asia. In addition, Energtek supplies NG to industrial and commercial consumers, using pipeless NG bulk transportation and supply solutions.