K'taka may soon have piped gas

Proshanto Banerjee, chairman and managing director, GAIL (India) Limited and Ashok Sinha, chairman and managing director, BPCL signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the formation of separate joint venture companies for implementing the City Gas Projects in Kerala and Karnataka.

The project is aimed at supplying piped natural gas (PNG) to domestic, commercial and industrial consumers and compressed natural gas (CNG) and auto LPG to automobiles.

This is the first step towards implementing the City Gas Projects in Kerala and Karnataka.

In view of the upcoming LNG terminal at Puthuvype, near Kochi, GAIL has drawn up plans for transporting R-LNG from the Kochi LNG terminal by laying a 900 km long Kochi-Kanjirakode-MangaloreoBangalore pipeline in Kerala and Karnataka at an investment of about Rs 2,000 crore.

With the completion of the pipeline project, City Gas Projects shall be taken up in highly polluted and major cities on the route of the pipeline in Kerala and Karnataka. R-LNG shall also be supplied to NTPC, Kayamkulam through a 110 km sub-sea pipeline to be laid at an investment of Rs 450 crore.

Ashok Sinha said that this will be the forerunner to the future events likely to unfold in the natural gas chain, as there is tremendous potential in India for natural gas in the coming decade.

BPCL is also participating in exploration projects with an eye on finding natural gas within the country, which will boost company's share of the natural gas market in India.

GAIL is also planning to set up a 4,00,000 TPA capacity petrochemical complex in Kochi with LNG as feed stock at an investment of about Rs 6,200 crore.

GAIL and BPCL have already formed two joint venture companies, Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) and Central U P Gas Limited (CUGL) for implementation of City Gas Projects in Delhi and Kanpur respectively.

Apart from the above, another company between GAIL and BPCL is being formed for supplying natural gas in Pune.