Coming soon - GIGL gas for IGL, Torrent, BPCL
GSPL India Gasnet (GIGL) aims to commission the much-delayed 2032-km gas pipeline from Mehsana in Gujarat to Bhatinda in Punjab by the end of this month (May 2022).
A joint venture between GSPL (52%), IndianOil (26%), HPCL (11%) and BPCL (11%), GIGL will soon begin supplying up to 4.5m cm/d divided equally between CGD operators IGL and Torrent Gas in Rajasthan, and BPCL in Haryana by its self-imposed May 31 (2022) deadline. "First, we will start with IGL in the Ajmer, Pali and Rajsamand area," confirms a GIGL source.
"Not only has IGL developed good downstream infrastructure but it has worked fast; even before gas supplies start, IGL has connected over 100,000 houses in a sparsely populated state like Rajasthan and that's a significant achievement." IGL won PNGRB authorisation for the 25,523-sq km Ajmer, Pali and Rajsamand area on March 29 (2019) after CGD-X in November 2018.
Under the eight-year Minimum Work Programme (MWP), IGL must connect 1,000,944 households and set up 198 CNG stations. After IGL, GIGL will begin gas supplies to the much smaller 1748.77-sq km Rohtak city gas area in Haryana won by BPCL in CGD-VI in 2018, where BPCL has completed pipeline laying work.
In Rohtak, BPCL must connect 10,300 homes in the first five years and lay 650-inch km of pipeline. "BPCL has done an excellent job," says a second GIGL source.
Despite winning the area in CGD-VI, BPCL could not begin work initially because rival Haryana City Gas (HCG) launched a legal challenge saying the Haryana government awarded it Rohtak before the PNGRB's creation in 2006. On October 6 (2021), the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) rejected HCG's appeal against BPCL and the PNGRB.
On March 21 (2018), HCG also approached the Supreme Court, where the case is pending. After Rohtak, GIGL will begin supplies to Torrent Gas in Jaipur, where Torrent began laying a pipeline network last year after Adani Gas dropped its Supreme Court appeal on April 16 (2021).
In March 2019, Adani challenged the PNGRB's decision to award Jaipur and Alwar on August 27 (2018) under CGD-IX to Torrent, arguing it had Rajasthan government approval for a Jaipur CGD network before the government set up the PNGRB. In Jaipur, Torrent must connect 1,320,000 homes and set up 132 CNG stations over eight years.