GSPL to build gas pipeline from Gujarat to Orissa

Gujarat State Petronet Ltd (GSPL) plans to lay, build and operate a natural gas pipeline from Gujarat to Orissa under its plans to expand its business to eastern parts of the country. GSPL, the gas distribution subsidiary of the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC), recently submitted an 'expression of interest' in this regard to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board. The company officials indicated that after the approval, the project is likely to be completed in three years. The 1,600km long natural gas pipeline will laid from Surat in Gujarat to Paradip in Orissa. The pipeline, which will pass through Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, is expected to entail an investment of around Rs 6,000 crore. The GSPL pipeline will have five spur lines, totalling 124 kilometres in length, and its endpoint will be the Indian Oil Corporation's 15 million tonne per annum refinery at Paradip. Sources said the gas for the pipeline will most probably come from the LNG terminal of GSPC at Mundra, Shell at Hazira, Petronet at Dahej and the state's offshore gas fields. Currently, GSPL supplies over 30 million standard cubic metres of gas in Gujarat. A senior official of the company said GSPL sees untapped demand for gas in several places along the pipeline's route. "Currently, there is no network to supply natural gas to Jalgaon, Nagpur, Raipur, Bhubaneshwar and Paradip," the official said. "This is the main reason why we have identified this route for expansion." Apart from fuelling industrial growth, the pipeline will also help in the development of backward areas along the route. The company has also identified centres where demand for natural gas could be high. Amravati, Nagpur and Bhandara in Maharashtra, Durg, Bhilai and Raipur in Chhattisgarh and Cuttack, Bhubaneshwar, Anugul and Paradip in Orissa are among the major demand centres identified by it. GSPL has held discussions with a number of companies, including Mahindra & Mahindra, Bhilai Steel Plant and ACC Cement, for the sale of natural gas.