State-run gas transporter GAIL (India) said on Thursday that it will jointly bid with top private firm Reliance Industries at the next auction of Indian oil and gas blocks rights. “We are looking for joint cooperation in exploration and production areas and will bid for NELP-VII, to be announced very soon,” GAIL chairman U D Choubey said after signing a memorandum of understanding with Reliance Industries.

He said GAIL expected Reliance to give it rights to pipe gas extracted from a coal-bed methane gas block in Madhya Pradesh. The two firms also agreed to explore options to transport and sell Reliance’s gas from its Krishna Godavari basin, and to jointly set up city gas distribution networks.

Reliance Industries will also use pipeline networks of Gujarat State Petroleum Corp to transport its gas from the Bay of Bengal field to

customers.

“GAIL has 6,000 kms of pipeline and the capacity is not being 100 percent utilised, and, on the other hand, Reliance is looking to market its new gas finds by 2008,” Choubey said. Choubey said GAIL and Reliance would also cooperate to buy, sell or swap imported natural gas through transnational pipelines.