Cairn laying two pipelines between Rajasthan, Gujarat

Cairn India is laying not one but two pipelines, alongside each other, from its oil fields in Rajasthan to coastal Gujarat. One pipeline will carry the crude oil and the other will carry gas to heat the waxy crude oil so that it can flow through the pipeline.

This heated dual pipeline system "" a first of its kind "" will be underground and will cover 585 kilometres. "About 30 (gas-fired) gensets of one megawatt each would be used at 30 power stations to generate power for heating the crude pipeline," said P Elango, advisor, Cairn Energy, India.

"The crude from Rajasthan is heavy with wax and has lower sulphur content. Therefore, it is necessary to have a heating system in place to help the crude flow smoothly through the pipeline," said the expert.

He said the state governments of Rajasthan and Gujarat had appointed empowered officers to start acquisition of land for the pipeline.

Cairn Energy and its partner, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), have completed route surveys and have submitted the details to the Central and state authorities.

A few months ago, the government had granted 'right of use' permission to Cairn India and ONGC to acquire land for laying the pipeline, paving the way for the project.

The $700-million pipeline is expected to be ready by the time production starts in 2009. While Cairn will invest 70 per cent of the costs of the pipeline, its partner ONGC will put in the remaining 30 per cent.

The pipeline, which will have a 24-inch diameter, is expected to carry about 150,000 barrels of crude a day, once it becomes fully functional.

Cairn India currently estimates that the Rajasthan oil fields, where Cairn has three major discoveries, have at least 3.6 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) in place. Of this, 2.2 billion are under active development planning, mainly from Mangala, Bhagyam and Aiswarya oil fields.

Elango said Cairn had spent over Rs 3,000 crore in exploration and production of oil and gas in India.