Gas pipelines to soon be tested for hydrogen-carrying potential: IOCL chief

The company is also aiming to expand aviation gasolene exports to South East Asia

The country’s largest oil marketing company Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL)'s natural gas pipelines would soon be tested for their ability to carry hydrogen, IOCL Chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya told Business Standard.

"We want to be able to carry some amount of hydrogen spiked in the natural gas. For this purpose, an MOU has been signed with SNAM, who are the leaders in this business. They have gas pipelines across Europe," Vaidya told Business Standard in an interaction on the sidelines of the India Energy Week.

The push towards blending natural gas with hydrogen stems from the need to reduce the carbon intensity of the delivered fuel. Hydrogen-enriched natural gas, or HENG, is a mixture of hydrogen and natural gas. In theory, the two can be mixed in any proportion, but typically, HENG in the range of 10-20 hydrogen by volume represents the most promising near-term option.

"SNAM will study IOCLs natural gas pipeline network nationwide, and recommend till what percentage we can inject hydrogen in these," said Vaidya.

SNAM, an Italian energy infrastructure firm, signed a memorandum of understanding with IOCL in 2020 for possible joint initiatives in the natural gas infrastructure value chain, particularly for storage and regasification.

IOCL is the second largest player in the imported natural gas business and has increasingly ramped up investments in developing cross-country natural gas pipelines and laying city gas distribution networks. The company wants to cut down on the use of LNG road tankers to transport the highly combustible gas.

IOCL is also scouting for a technology partner who can transfer the production technology for manufacturing green hydrogen, Vaidya said. The company had formed a joint venture last year with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and ReNew Power to develop the nascent green hydrogen sector in India.

"Once we have the partner, we will begin production in Hazira," Vaidya said.

Aviation fuel push

Vaidya also outlined plans to quickly scale up IOCL's aviation fuel exports, which began last month.

"This is not normal aviation fuel. It is a specialised product called aviation gasoline. Our business development team is on the job and we wish to increase our footprint to South East Asia, to begin with," Vaidya said.

In January, 80 barrels of the special aviation fuel for small aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) called AVGAS 100 LL was exported to Papua New Guinea.

The company is setting up two manufacturing facilities for the fuel at its Koyali refinery in Vadodara, Gujarat, and at Paradeep Refinery in Odisha, he added.

"We will be starting (production) in a month's time. We will have adequate material available for not only meeting 100 per cent Indian demand but also being able to export it," Vaidya stressed.

The company signed an agreement on Tuesday with US-based LanzaJet to produce cleaner aviation fuel at its Panipat refinery in north India. By 2030, two per cent of aviation fuel produced by Indian Oil will be sustainable aviation fuel.

LanzaJet helps firms produce aviation fuel from ethanol made from agricultural or industrial waste.

Vaidya also said the company is aiming to tie up with private sector entities, including foreign ones for a range of requirements.

While IOCL is essentially a midstream and downstream company with limited appetite for exploration activities, it still has aspirations, Vaidya stressed.