GSPL consortium wins new gas project
A consortium led by Gujarat State Petronet Ltd (GSPL) has won the bid to lay a 1,680 km gas pipeline from Mehsana in Gujarat to Bhatinda in Punjab, the second pipeline project won by the Gujarat government firm this week as it seeks to expand outside its home state.
India is expanding its grid of gas pipelines in anticipation of growing demand from industries and city gas networks.
The consortium has also submitted a bid to industry regulator Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) for laying a 740km pipeline from Bhatinda to Srinagar via Jammu. The bids are yet to be opened.
GSPL has a 52% stake in the winning entity, which is yet to be named, while Indian Oil Corp. Ltd holds 26%. Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd and Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd hold 11% each. The proposed Mehsana-Bhatinda pipeline will have a capacity to transport 50 million standard cu. m per day (mscmd) of gas.
A senior GSPL official confirmed the development.
Earlier, the GSPL-led consortium won rights to lay a 1,585km pipeline from Mallavaram on the east coast of Andhra Pradesh to Bhilwara in Rajasthan. “The qualification was based on volume of gas trans- ported and the competitive rates of tariff offered. Apart from GSPL, a consortium of Adani-Welspun-ILFS was also in the race,” said a senior official of PNGRB, who did not want to be named.
“Gujarat is the only state which has got a gas grid in place in more that 75% of its districts. We have successfully implemented our gas pipeline network and we wish to take our experience to other parts of the country. The Mehsana-Bhatinda project is a step in this direction,” said Saurabh Patel, minister of state for energy and petrochemicals. GSPL, a subsidiary of the state-owned Gujarat State Petroleum Corp. Ltd, is seeking gas supplies from the parent firm, which has struck gas in the Krishna-Godavari basin.
While the GSPL official declined to divulge the project cost, an industry expert said on condition of anonymity that it would be Rs. 6,000-7,000 crore. The project is expected to be completed in three years. “The proposed pipeline will pass through energy-starved regions which have not seen gas supply in the past and are industrialized as well, thereby infusing a new lease of life into the industries and under developed areas of Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab and help develop city gas development network and CNG corridor in areasenroute,” GSPL had said in its proposal to PNGRB. GSPL’s gas supply agreement with Petronet LNG Ltd (PLL) would go up to 2.5 mscmd when PLL in- creases its capacity beyond current 10 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) in the next couple of years. Also, Gujarat State Petroleum Corp is planning to set up an LNG terminal at Mundra with an initial capacity of 6.5 mmtpa.
For the Bhatinda-Srinagar project, one firm, GAIL (India) Ltd, and two consortia are in the race, an industry source familiar with the development said. To set-up a distribution network in Andhra Pradesh, GSPL has already formed a joint venture entity, Krishna Godavari Gas Network Ltd, with Infrastructure Corp of Andhra Pradesh Ltd and IDFC Private Equity Company Ltd, said a Gujarat government official.
Apart from these three projects, the GSPL-led consortium has also submitted a bid to PNGRB for a 1,680-km pipeline from Surat in western Gujarat to Paradip in Orissa.
Currently, GSPL operates a 1,670km pipeline network in Gujarat and has completed work on another 300km. The company expects its state network to reach 2,400km by the end of the fiscal.
India is expanding its grid of gas pipelines in anticipation of growing demand from industries and city gas networks.
The consortium has also submitted a bid to industry regulator Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) for laying a 740km pipeline from Bhatinda to Srinagar via Jammu. The bids are yet to be opened.
GSPL has a 52% stake in the winning entity, which is yet to be named, while Indian Oil Corp. Ltd holds 26%. Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd and Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd hold 11% each. The proposed Mehsana-Bhatinda pipeline will have a capacity to transport 50 million standard cu. m per day (mscmd) of gas.
A senior GSPL official confirmed the development.
Earlier, the GSPL-led consortium won rights to lay a 1,585km pipeline from Mallavaram on the east coast of Andhra Pradesh to Bhilwara in Rajasthan. “The qualification was based on volume of gas trans- ported and the competitive rates of tariff offered. Apart from GSPL, a consortium of Adani-Welspun-ILFS was also in the race,” said a senior official of PNGRB, who did not want to be named.
“Gujarat is the only state which has got a gas grid in place in more that 75% of its districts. We have successfully implemented our gas pipeline network and we wish to take our experience to other parts of the country. The Mehsana-Bhatinda project is a step in this direction,” said Saurabh Patel, minister of state for energy and petrochemicals. GSPL, a subsidiary of the state-owned Gujarat State Petroleum Corp. Ltd, is seeking gas supplies from the parent firm, which has struck gas in the Krishna-Godavari basin.
While the GSPL official declined to divulge the project cost, an industry expert said on condition of anonymity that it would be Rs. 6,000-7,000 crore. The project is expected to be completed in three years. “The proposed pipeline will pass through energy-starved regions which have not seen gas supply in the past and are industrialized as well, thereby infusing a new lease of life into the industries and under developed areas of Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab and help develop city gas development network and CNG corridor in areasenroute,” GSPL had said in its proposal to PNGRB. GSPL’s gas supply agreement with Petronet LNG Ltd (PLL) would go up to 2.5 mscmd when PLL in- creases its capacity beyond current 10 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) in the next couple of years. Also, Gujarat State Petroleum Corp is planning to set up an LNG terminal at Mundra with an initial capacity of 6.5 mmtpa.
For the Bhatinda-Srinagar project, one firm, GAIL (India) Ltd, and two consortia are in the race, an industry source familiar with the development said. To set-up a distribution network in Andhra Pradesh, GSPL has already formed a joint venture entity, Krishna Godavari Gas Network Ltd, with Infrastructure Corp of Andhra Pradesh Ltd and IDFC Private Equity Company Ltd, said a Gujarat government official.
Apart from these three projects, the GSPL-led consortium has also submitted a bid to PNGRB for a 1,680-km pipeline from Surat in western Gujarat to Paradip in Orissa.
Currently, GSPL operates a 1,670km pipeline network in Gujarat and has completed work on another 300km. The company expects its state network to reach 2,400km by the end of the fiscal.
Next Story