GSPC-RIL sign biggest ever gas transportation pact

Gandhinagar, Mar 31 (UNI) Gujarat State Petronet Ltd and Reliance Industries Limited today signed a gas transportation agreement to transport 11 MSMCMD of natural gas from Bhadbhut in Bharuch to RIL's Refinery and Petrochemical complex in Jamnagar.

Under this agreement, RIL has an option to increase the volumes of gas upto 14 MSCMD, says an official release.

RIL would transport portion of its KG gas from Kakinada through its East-West pipeline and deliver the same to GSPL at Bharuch. For transportation of gas, GSPL would use its existing pipeline and develop new pipelines between Bharuch to Hadala and Rajkot to Jamnagar.

Mr DJ Pandian, Managing Director of GSPCL and PMS Prasad, President&CEO-Petroleum Business, RIL signed the agreements in the presence of Mr Saurabh Patel, Minister of Energy and Petrochemicals and Mr D Rajgopalan, IAS, Chairman, GSPC and other officials from GSPC and Reliance Group.

The transportation of gas shall commence in second quarter of 2008. The agreement is valid for a period of 15 years.

Similarly, Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation has signed gas transportation agreement with Reliance Gas Transmission and Infrastructure Ltd for transportation of 3.5 MSMCMD of natural gas from its largest KG basin discovery at Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh to Gujarat. As per this agreement, GSPC has an option to increase the volumes of gas upto 11 MSCMD.

For transportation of gas from Kakinada to Gujarat, RGTIL is developing a pipeline between Kakinada and Bharuch.

The transportation of gas shall commence as soon as GSPC starts the production of gas from its KG basin. The agreement is valid for a period of 15 years from the starting date.

GSPC has made the largest discovery of natural gas in the KG basin two years before and the commercial production is likely to commence from mid 2009.

GSPC's KG gas being a domestic gas when it reaches Gujarat will be available to the people of Gujarat at a competitive price as compared to the imported gas. This also will help in supplying gas on a sustainable and long-term basis, to the power sector, local distribution including the household, resulting in the overall economic development of the State This will herald a new era of prosperity, as the GSPC's KG gas would give some relief to build the huge demand supply gap, being the domestic gas.

UNI