GAIL all set to start work on ambitious 876 km gas pipeline

Gayatree Sharma / TNN / May 4, 2009, 04:12 IST

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India's oldest and largest gas transmission company, Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), is all set to start work on the ambitious 876 km Jagdishpur-Haldia natural gas pipeline.

GAIL all set to start work on ambitious 876 km gas pipeline

PATNA: India's oldest and largest gas transmission company, Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), after approval from the ministry of petroleum and natural gas, is all set to start work on the ambitious 876 km Jagdishpur-Haldia natural gas pipeline which would pass through Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
The four districts of Bihar that will be covered in this ambitious pipeline are Kaimur, Rohtas, Aurangabad and Gaya.
In all, the network of the main pipeline and spurs or branch lines, will cover 1,400 km, at a whopping Rs 7,000 crore, and will further provide connectivity through spur pipelines to various other cities and towns for industrial, commercial and city gas distribution systems.
Moreover, the 32 million metric standard cubic meter per day (MMSCMD) Jagdishpur-Haldia pipeline will open up an energy corridor for major industrial use by fertiliser and steel plants along the pipeline route. Talking to newsmen, GAIL chairman-cum-managing director U D Choubey said, "This ambitious GAIL pipeline, besides covering four districts of Bihar, will branch off into two spur pipelines near Bhaktiarpur, one going to Chhapra up to West Champaran and the other up to Barauni. Gail, after signing an MoU with IOC, will supply gas to Barauni's presently defunct fertiliser plant and proposed petrochemical plant."

Already, Gail has signed an agreement for supply of natural gas to Barauni plant of Urvarak Videsh. According to the Term Sheet, Gail will supply 2.11 MMSCMD gas to Barauni plant, the initial supply date in case of Barauni being October 2012-June 2013. The Jagdishpur-Haldia pipeline will supply gas, sourced from KG Basin block, to the Barauni plant. With this, the revival of two Barauni units is scheduled to be completed by 2012-2013 through joint venture of Rashtriya Chemical and Fertilisers (RCF), National Fertilisers Limited (NFL) and Kribhco under the name Urvarak Videsh Limited.

The revival of Barauni unit will improve fertiliser availability in the vicinity and bridge demand-supply gap of urea in Bihar and boost agricultural and economic development in the region and increase self-reliance in the urea sector. GAIL has also signed an MoU with IOC for co-operation in the area of petrochemicals to explore the possibility of setting up a cracker complex, including downstream derivatives, at Barauni, Choubey said.
The GAIL CMD said that Gail has signed an MoU with IFFCO for setting up a gas-based power plant at Bettiah. The proposed power plant, receiving gas from the Jagdispur-Haldia pipeline, will have a capacity of 250-300 MW. The site of the plant, identified near Bettiah-Chanpatia state highway and NH-28, will be set up at an estimated investment of Rs 1,500 crore.

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