President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam has given his assent to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board Act that envisages having a regulator for India's oil and gas sector, a petroleum ministry official said on Tuesday.

"The President gave his assent on Tuesday and the regulatory board would start functioning in four to five months," Petroleum Secretary M S Srinivasan told reporters in New Delhi.

The Act, passed by both Houses of Parliament in the Winter Session, envisages setting up a regulator for oil and gas sector to ensure that producers and refiners comply with law, as the market is further opened up to competition.

Srinivasan said the Petroleum Ministry, in consultations with law ministry, would finalise the rules and regulations governing the regulator within one month.

Asked whether the Board would be given the authority to fix prices, he said: "The government will come up with a policy and the Board will act within that policy."

According to the Act, the regulator will have powers to take control of any oil and gas asset, pipeline or storage tanks in case of national needs or emergencies.

The regulator would also have to ensure availability of fuel in remote areas, address consumer grievances besides sharing of pipelines and tanks among oil companies. It would have to see that no company sells fuels or gas above the maximum retail price set by the government.

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