Pradhan launches GAIL's piped natural gas supply in Odisha

With this, GAIL started supply of environment-friendly PNG to 255 houses in Nalco Nagar located at Chandrasekharpur area in the state capital here. The supply of PNG to a limited households was done ahead of its schedule in March 2018. PMUG will pass through five states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal. The longest stretch of the project, which is about 769 km, will be built in Odisha.

"This pipeline will lead to industrial development of eastern India. Based on this gas-based pipeline, we are also planning to commission Talcher Fertiliser plant and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to lay foundation stone for this project in coming November", Pradhan said.

City Gas Distribution (CGD) projects in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack are being taken up in parallel with the Jagdishpur Haldia & Bokaro Dhamra Natural Gas Pipeline (JHBDPL).

In Odisha, the Natural Gas Pipeline will be constructed at an estimated investment of Rs 4,000 crore and will have a length of about 769 km covering 13 districts, like Bhadrak, Jajpur, Dhenkanal, Angul, Sundergarh, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Debagarh, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Khurda, Puri and Kendrapara.

Initially, natural gas will reach Bhubaneswar in special containers which will be transported by road from Vijaywada in Andhra Pradesh. Later, natural gas will be supplied through the Jagdishpur Haldia & Bokaro Dhamra Natural Gas Pipeline (JHBDPL). The pipeline is presently under construction and likely to be completed by 2019, they said.

In Bhubaneshwar and Cuttack, the number of PNG connections will be gradually ramped up in the next three to five years. Moreover, 25 CNG stations will be commissioned in the twin cities to supply compressed natural gas (CNG) fuel to vehicles, Pradhan said.

In Bhubaneswar, construction activities of CNG stations have already been taken up at Chandrasekharpur, Patia, Khandagiri and Tamando, and supply will be commenced at the earliest, he said.

"The overall capital expenditure for the Bhubaneswar and Cuttack CGD projects will be Rs 1,700 crores, of which Rs 400 crores will be spent in the next three to five years," the minister said.

"Around 25,000 households in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack would get PNG connection in their kitchens by December 2019 as part of the City Gas Distribution (CGD) project. The number of PNG connections will be gradually ramped up in the next three to five years," Ashutosh Karnatak, Director of Projects, GAIL said.

GAIL also plans to provide PNG connections in the near future to adjacent Jeevan Bima Colony and Maitri Vihar Colony covering a total of 1,000 houses. Assessment is also being carried out for PNG supply to leading hotels, hospitals and industrial units of the city.

GAIL (India) Limited is India's No. 1 Integrated Natural Gas company with a market share of over 75% in Natural Gas transmission. With over 11,000 Kms of Natural gas network, GAIL supplies India's fuel requirements across sectors like Power, Fertilizer, Industrial, automotive and even household consumers.

Apart from natural gas transmission, distribution and processing, the Company has diversified business interests in Petrochemicals, LPG transmission, City gas projects and Exploration and Production activities. The company is committed to expand its current network to 18,000 km within 5 years.