Released on = August 22, 2007, 2:08 am

Press Release Author = Genesis B-M

Industry = Industrial

Press Release Summary = The company plans to fund this plan from internal accurals
and may also tap the capital market.

Press Release Body = The first company to produce coal-bed methane in India, Great
Eastern Energy Corp Ltd, plans to invest Rs6,000 crore to become an upstream and
downstream integrated player by 2016.

"We plan to make this investment...over a period of next seven to nine years," said
Prashant Modi, president and chief operating officer of Great Eastern. Read more
about Prashant Modi on www.prashantmodi.com

Great Eastern is exploring and developing production wells for its methane block in
Damodar Valley (Raniganj coalfield), near Asansol in West Bengal.

Coal-bed methane has proven to be a viable alternative to natural gas as fuel for
power generation and fertilizer and ceramics production. It is a gas found in coal
seams and India has the sixth largest reserves of coal in the world.

A significant production of coal-bed methane could potentially help address the
country's gas shortage.

Great Eastern plans to spend half of the Rs6,000 crore by 2013. Explaining the
capital expenditure plans, Modi said: "We plan to spend around Rs800 crore for
drilling 103 wells in the first phase of its exploration activity, which is expected
to be completed by 2009. We plan to nearly double this spend to Rs1,600 crore for
drilling 200 wells and associated gathering activities. The balance money will be
spent on developing transportation pipelines and setting up city-gas distribution
networks and auto CNG stations."

The company plans to fund this expenditure plan from its own internal accruals and
may also tap the capital market for further funds. Great Eastern has Rs203 crore of
equity and has approached banks to borrow Rs350 crore.

The company raised £19 million (Rs156 crore) in December 2005 through Global
Depositary Receipts on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market
(AIM) and has a notional market capitalization of £176 million.

A Delhi based hydrocarbon sector analyst, who did not wish to be identified citing
commercial reasons, said, "AIM can be a potential source of funds for the company.
This investment will also spur investment in the sector as other business groups
would be interested in the business once the next round is announced."

As part of its downstream plans, the company is in talks with two public sector
companies for setting up gas distribution network in six districts of West Bengal.
These districts are Burdwan, Durgapur, Raniganj, Asansol, Kulti and Barakar, and the
investment is expected to be around Rs200 crore.

"It will be a 50:50 JV where we would like to have a majority stake," said Yogendra
Modi, Great Eastern's chairman and chief executive officer. He declined to name the
companies.

The government has thus far awarded 26 coal-bed methane blocks for exploration.
These are spread over 13,600 sq. km and the total methane resources in these blocks
are estimated at 1,374bcm, which translates into a production potential of around
38mscmd.



Web Site = http://www.genesisbm.in

Contact Details = Dolly Tayal, Genesis B-M
dolly.tayal@bm.com
+91 9899101140