GAIL board approves Dabhol-Bangalore gas pipeline

New Delhi, Jan 15 (UNI) State-owned Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) today said its board has given in-principle approval for laying of 730 km Dabhol-Bangalore gas pipeline that is expected to be completed by 2011.

''The Board of Directors have given in-principle approval for laying of the Dabhol-Bangalore gas pipeline,'' the company said in a statement said.

Depending on the source and customer tie-up, the 30 inch, 730 km Dabhol-Bangalore gas pipeline will be designed to carry 16 MMSCD of gas and will need an investment of about Rs 2,500 crore.

The project will be appraised/updated in respect of investment, customers identification, routing of the pipeline and freezing the design parameters before final investment approval by the GAIL Board, it added.

The route of the proposed pipeline is from R-LNG Terminal of Ratnagiri Gas and Power Pvt Ltd (RGPPL) at Dabhol in Maharashtra up to Bangalore.

The pipeline will pass through Ratnagiri and Kolhapur districts of Maharashtra; and Belgaum, Dharwad, Haven, Davangere, Chitradurga, Tumkur and Bangalore districts of Karnataka.

With this pipeline, natural gas from RGPPL's R-LNG Terminal can be supplied to industrial clusters in the state of Maharashtra and Karnataka.

The Dabhol-Bangalore pipeline is among the five new pipelines for which GAIL has already received authorization in the first quarter of 2007.

The other pipelines for which approval has been granted are: (1) Dadri - Bawana - Nangal pipeline, (2) Chainsa - Gurgaon - Jhajjhar - Hissan pipeline, (3) Jagdishpur - Haldia pipeline, and (4) Kochi - Kanjirkkod - Bangalore / Mangalore pipeline.

In addition to these, GAIL will be laying three pipelines (within the existing ROU) to augment the capacities of Dahej-Vijaipur pipeline, Vijaipun-Dadri pipeline, Vijaipur-Auraiya-Jagdishpur pipeline.

The carrying capacity of these three pipelines will be 74 MMSCMD. The total length of the new pipelines will be around 5,500 km and the estimated investment on these would be nearly Rs 20,000 crore.

When all these pipelines are commissioned by 2011-12, the total length of GAIL's pipelines would be over 12,000 km and the capacity is expected to increase from 148 MMSCMD at present to around 300 MMSCMD.

These eight new pipelines to be laid by GAIL will form part of an integrated national gas grid in the country. These pipelines will also enable GAIL to maintain its dominant position in the gas transmission and distribution business.

The integrated gas pipeline network will also enable development of city gas distribution projects in the country by catering to a large number of cities and towns falling in the catchment area of the existing and future pipeline networks and GAIL will have a distinct advantage and edge over other players.

GAIL strategy meeting was attended by Dr U D Choubey, Chairman and Managing Director, GAIL, Mr S Sundareshan, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and others.

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