The Ministry of Petroleum had said that South India will start getting natural gas produced from the Krishna-Godavari basin (K-G basin) from 2012. A senior official from the ministry also said the production from the K-G basin will be raised to 80 million standard cubic metre per day (MSCMD) from 60 MSCMD and pipeline connectivity, to transport gas, will also be ready by 2012.
Speaking to reporters in Chennai at Indian Oil Corporation office, Petroleum Secretary S Sundareshan said that “10 days ago we called for a meeting of Reliance Industries Ltd (which owns the gas fields) and GAIL (India) Ltd (which lays pipelines) and discussed the time frame for the project to construct pipeline to connect southern cities with the K-G basin, and the Ministry had given “strict timeframe”.
He added, presently K-G basin produces 60 MMSCMD of gas, which would be increased to 80 MMSCMD. “As there are other gas finds too in that basin, the production of natural gas would go up in the next 3-4 years,” said Sundareshan.
The gas would start flowing to Tamil Nadu anytime between March 2012 and the end of that year, he said.
The state-run Gail (India) Ltd, would be laying one pipeline between Bangalore and Chennai.
Reliance Industries Ltd will be putting up pipelines between Kakinada and Chennai, will be later extended to Chennai, and another between Chennai and Bangalore.
GAIL will also be executing the Dhabol-Bangalore pipeline with connectivity to Goa, Kochi-Mangalore pipeline with connectivity to Bangalore, and the Haldia-Jagdishpur pipeline. Reliance will be executing the Kakinada-Haldia pipeline.
“Gas production has increased by 60 per cent to 70 per cent in the last one year. Last year was important for GAIL, which is involved in exploration and production of natural gas, as it commenced production in two important oil fields. Gas production from the Krishna Godavari basin has increased by 60,” Sundareshan said.
He said the ministry was also looking at increasing the coverage of LPG connections in the country. For instance in South India, Tamil Nadu has LPG coverage of 73 per cent, which is expected to increase by 10 per cent every year, he said.
