More than 20 tenders for Dahej LNG through HBJ
Even as Petronet LNG moves ahead to beat Shell and be the first to land LNG in India at Dahej GAIL is getting its act together to transport regassified LNG by pipeline.
We learn GAIL will float close to 20 tenders from October to December for its plan to upgrade the Hazira-Bijaipur-Jagdishpur pipeline and to supply Dahej LNG to the gas-starved northern Indian market. GAIL technocrats and colleagues at Engineers India are putting the finishing touches to detailed engineering plans, tender documents, and inquiries.
GAIL sources tell us that Dahej LNG will be pumped into the HBJ pipeline network at Bijaipur, which means laying 620-km of pipeline, at a cost of Rs3,000cr ($652m) for a targeted completion date of end-2003. This is when the shipping consortium for the Dahej terminal takes delivery of the first LNG tanker from South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding.
Phase two of the HBJ upgrade involves adding more compressors at a cost of Rs500cr ($106m) and is targeted for completion by end-2005, a year after Daewoo delivers the second LNG tanker. At full capacity Dahej should pump in 20m cubic metres a day of LNG into the pipelines.
We learn the HBJ upgrade will go to the GAIL board for final sanction by January. "Only after that will expenditure be committed," reveals a source.
"Till then we will finish all the preliminary work."