GAIL begins naphtha marketing for first time

Mumbai, May 22: The state-owned GAIL India has entered into naphtha marketing for the first time on May 19 with the supply of its first naphtha tanker to NTPC, Auraiya, from its plant located at Pata in UP.

Announcing this, the Company said the production of naphtha as a by-product of LPG fractionation has commenced for the first time at the Company's plant at Pata after successfully carrying out suitable modifications in the process parameters.

To begin with, the Company will be supplying about 14,000 MT/annum of naphtha from its Pata plant to NTPC, Auraiya. Similar process changes have been planned at other Company's plants located at Vijaipur in MP and Gandhar in Gujarat in near future and the naphtha to be manufactured at these locations has already been tied up with other unit of NTPC at Anta.

The Company will be manufacturing about 65,000 MT/annum at all its locations put together.

Meanwhile, the Company has commissioned the Thulendi-Phulpur pipeline and commenced gas supply to IFFCO. The 18-inch, 139 km pipeline was commissioned ahead of the schedule. As against the approved project cost of Rs 220 crore, the actual cost incurred was approximately Rs 150 crore.

With the commissioning of this pipeline, the Company has completed one more leg of its proposed national gas grid, the other legs completed so far being Gas Expansion and Rehabilitation Project (GREP) and Dahej-Vijaipur pipelines.

Other pipelines under the national gas grid currently under construction include 474 km Dahej-Uran pipeline scheduled for completion in March 2007, 375-km Panvel-Dabhol pipeline scheduled for commissioning in March 2007, and 192-km Vijaipur-Kota pipeline scheduled for completion in December this year.

UNI