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Think Gas to invest ₹10,000 cr, aims for top spot in city gas distribution
'The merger will be complete within the next nine months. We will become the second-largest CGD company, next only to Adani Total Gas, through this,' said Chiradeep Datta, director and chief operating officer, Think Gas. 'We are also planning to invest around Rs 10,000 crore over the next five years to get into the numero uno position,' he told Business Standard. The company has already invested around ₹8,000 crore in the segment. It is awaiting clearance from the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) for the deal.
Datta added that the company also has plans to utilise its retail network to sell liquefied natural gas (LNG), set up charging points for electric vehicles, and also retail petrol and diesel — an idea already under consideration by the government.
It was in February 2025 that both AG&P Pratham and Think Gas announced the merger to form Think Gas. I Squared Capital will be a major shareholder in the combined entity, while other shareholders include Osaka Gas, Sumitomo Corporation, Konoike Group, Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport and Urban Development (JOIN), and AG&P Global.
'Our target is to have over 1 million households and 1,500 fuelling stations in the next few years, from around 550,000 houses and 500 outlets in our network now,' said Datta.
Interestingly, media reports indicate that Adani Total Gas already has over 1.1 million residential customers for piped natural gas (PNG) and over 1,000 compressed natural gas (CNG) stations, in addition to 10,417 industrial and commercial customers.
Think Gas's network spans 19 geographical areas (GAs) across Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, comprising around 17,000 inch-km of steel pipeline connecting industrial and commercial establishments.
Datta said the leadership team of both companies has already been integrated, with Abhilesh Gupta as managing director and chief executive officer. Similarly, for technology integration, it has joined hands with ABB India Ltd, which is offering end-to-end automation and digitalisation of their network across 10 states. Using ABB's cloud-based automation platform, Think Gas has centralised operations and real-time visibility of its CGD networks from its control room in Chennai.
'By digitalising and centralising our natural gas distribution networks, we have significantly boosted operational efficiency, optimised manpower requirements, and leveraged real-time data to make better decisions,' he added.
In a statement, the company said it will increase its pipeline network to 24,000 inch-km, feeding over 2,000 CNG stations and 180 million customers in the next few years, and covering 324,000 square kilometres.
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