New Delhi, Jan 16 (IANS): Oil major Indian Oil Corporation on Sunday said it will invest over Rs 7,000 crore in setting up city gas distribution networks.

The investment will be done in those cities for which it has secured a licence, and 33 per cent of the demand potential, in the recently-concluded 11th round of CGD bidding by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board.

Those geographical areas include major districts like Jammu, Pathankot, Sikar, Jalgaon, Guntur (Amravati), Tuticorin, Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari, Madurai, Dharmapuri and Haldia (East Mednipore).

"These districts contain high demand customers across the industry-commercial-domestic spectrum for PNG (Piped Natural Gas) and CNG (Compressed Natural Gas). IndianOil plans to invest over Rs 7,000 crore in these new CGD projects, over and above the Rs 20,000 crore already planned for its CGD Vertical," it said in a statement.

After the 11th round of the bidding, Indian Oil, along with its two joint venture companies, is now present in 49 geographical areas and 105 districts spread across 21 states and UTs.

"Gas will play a significant role in India's march towards a low carbon future as part of its Panchamrit pledge during COP-26 summit to reduce total carbon emissions by one billion tonnes from now till 2030," IOC Chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya said in the statement.