US energy giant Unocal has proposed to lay a pipeline through Bangladesh to bring the unutilised Tripura gas to Kolkata.
This gas will then be transported to consumption centres in northern India through another pipeline.
It was proposed to lay the pipeline for the Tripura gas with the help of Indian companies, a senior Unocal official said.
He said since there was no local market for Tripura gas, it was essential to bring it to the mainland for its efficient and economical utilisation.
However, since it was highly capital-intensive and difficult to bring the gas through the chicken-neck in north-east India, the only solution would be to lay a 600 km pipeline through Bangladesh to bring this gas to the Indian border, he added.
At the Bangladesh border, this gas will be fed into the proposed pipeline connecting West Bengal with north India through Bihar and UP.
Unocal also operates the gigantic Bibyana gas fields in Bangladesh and has proposed to lay a 1,363-km long cross-country pipeline from the fields to Delhi for the export of 500 million cubic feet of gas per day.
The project, however, hinged on the Bangladesh government deciding to export gas to India, he said.
