The Hindu : Business : GAIL’s major thrust to pipeline transmission

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Thursday, Aug 16, 2007
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GAIL’s major thrust to pipeline transmission

Sujay Mehdudia

To augment existing pipeline capacities
Rs. 18,000 cr. investment envisaged

NEW DELHI: Seeking to capitalise on the emerging natural gas transportation business, Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) has decided to give a major thrust to establishing a “dedicated pipeline transmission” network raising the carrying capacity from the present 140 million standard cubic metre per day (mscmpd) to 300 mscmpd by the end of 2012.

The GAIL board had already approved the ‘Vision Document’ presented by its Chairman and Managing Director, U. D. Choubey, and the implementation had already begun on a war footing. Major pipeline projects are being taken up.

Officials in GAIL said that in the first phase of the project, it was envisaged that the carrying capacity of GAIL would be increased from 140 mscmpd to 220 mscmpd by 2009-10. Officials said the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas had granted the go ahead for five new natural gas pipelines. These include the 610 km Dadri-Bawana-Nangal pipeline passing through Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana and Punjab and the 310 km Chainsa-Gurgaon-Jhajjhar-Hissar pipeline passing through Haryana and Rajasthan.

Similarly, another proposal on the agenda is the 876 km Jagdishpur-Haldia pipeline passing through West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The 730 km Dabhol-Bangalore pipeline passing through Maharashtra and Karnataka and the 840 km Kochi-Kanjirkkod-Bangalore and Mangalore pipeline passing through Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are also to be taken up on priority.

In addition to these, GAIL will be augmenting the capacities of three existing pipelines — Dahej (Gujarat)-Vijaipur (Madhya Pradesh) pipeline, Vijaipur (Madhya Pradesh)-Dadri (Uttar Pradesh) pipeline, Vijaipur (Madhya Pradesh)-Auraiya (Uttar Pradesh)-Jagdishpur (Uttar Pradesh) pipeline. An investment of around Rs. 18,000 crore has been outlined for these priority projects.

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