The Hindu : `Policy soon for laying gas pipelines across the country'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Oct 12, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka-Bangalore

`Policy soon for laying gas pipelines across the country'

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE OCT. 11 . The Government will soon finalise a policy for laying gas pipelines across the country and a draft natural gas pipeline policy was notified last month, according to the Minister for Petroleum, Ram Naik.

Dedicating to the nation the Mangalore-Hassan-Bangalore (MHB) product pipeline at Devangonthi, near here, he said the national gas grid, running to about 7,000 km, would transport gas which would be available from the intensified exploration efforts as well as the LNG projects being set up.

It would involve an expenditure of over Rs. 18,000 crores over the next five to six years. The Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) would lay the transmission pipeline network.

He said under the policy for the development of petroleum product "pipelines on common user principle", six pipelines by Reliance Industries Limited had been approved. This included the Jamnagar-Patiala pipeline (1,580 km.) at a cost of Rs. 1,640 crores; Jamnagar-Kanpur (2,540 km., cost Rs. 1,780 crores); Goa-Hyderabad (660 km, cost Rs. 460 crores); Chennai-Bangalore (540 km., cost Rs. 325 crores); Kakinada-Vijayawada (200 km., cost Rs. 110 crores) and Haldia-Ranchi (375 km., cost Rs. 260 crores).

Hailing the MHB project of Petronet MHB Limited, a joint venture of the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited and Petronet, Mr. Naik said the 363-km. pipeline from the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) had several advantages — it would cut transport cost, ensure uninterrupted supply of petrol, diesel and kerosene to Hassan, Bangalore and other centres; reduce the risk of en route adulteration and bring down traffic congestion on roads as tankers would no longer be required to transport the products. At present, the available routes were circuitous and the distance by train between Mangalore and Bangalore was around 820 km.

He said he would write to the Chief Minister seeking sales tax concessions to help revive the MRPL. The company, after the Oil and Natural Gas and Commission (ONGC) picked up shares from the Aditya Birla Group, was on a recovery path, he said and hoped that it would be able to come out of the red in the next couple of years.

The Government was considering permitting the sale of the HPCL equity in the MRPL to the ONGC following which the ONGC stake would go up to 88 per cent.

India imported 88.7 million tonnes of crude oil of its overall requirement of 115 million tonnes in 2002-03. The import bill was Rs. 84,400 crores. To reduce its dependence on import, the Government laid emphasis on exploration, and in the last four years 70 blocks had been awarded under the New Exploration Licensing Policy. Bids for 21 more blocks were received recently.

The Additional Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, M.S. Srinivasan, said that the petroleum sector had taken giant strides in the last four to five years and that fuel specifications, which were among the best in Asia, would reach international standards soon. About Rs. 10,000 crores had been invested by oil companies to ensure Euro IV standards by 2010.

The Karnataka Minister for Large and Medium Industries, R.V. Deshpande, the former Railway Minister and MP from Bangalore North, C.K. Jaffer Sharief, and local MLA, Bachegowda, urged the Petroleum Minister to impress upon the oil companies located in the area to help in local area development. Mr. Naik assured action within 30 days.

`No hike in LPG prices'

Later, talking to presspersons, Mr. Naik reiterated the Government's decision of not increasing the prices of domestic LPG and PDS kerosene. If one went by market forces, then the price would have to be increased by Rs. 105 a cylinder and Rs. three a litre of kerosene. But the Government had decided not to go ahead with any increase and had asked the Public Sector Undertakings of the oil sector to absorb the burden of Rs. 8,300 crores.

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