Jamnagar awaits D6 gas through Gujarat Petronet
GSPC pipeline subsidiary Gujarat State Petronet has again postponed the commissioning of two important sections of its state wide 2200-km-long gas grid link to Reliance’s new 27m t/y refinery at Jamnagar.
This time the reason is because it is waiting for the arrival of D6 gas. Last month, Gujarat Petronet was hoping to commission a 30-inch diameter, 108-km-long stretch from Bhadbhut to Gana and a 30-inch diameter, 110.01-km-long stretch from Rajkot to Jamnagar.
But this report learns Gujarat Petronet has postponed an official announcement, pending the arrival of D6 gas. “Technically the two sections of Bhadbhut to Gana and Rajkot to Jamnagar are ready,†a senior GSPC official tells us.
“But they have not been commissioned because we are waiting for Reliance gas.†Uncertainty over the exact arrival date of D6 gas continues as Ambani brothers Mukesh and Anil continue to battle it out in the Mumbai High Court.
Most industry watchers however expect D6 gas to start flowing by the end of this year. When it eventually starts flowing, Reliance has ensured that around 11m cm/d will move through the Gujarat Petronet gas grid directly to its mega-refining complex at Jamnagar.
Two other grid sections (the 30-inch diameter, 84-km-long stretch from Gana to Hadala and the 18-inch diameter, 129.5-km-long stretch from Morbi to Mundra) will be ready for commissioning early next year and supply gas to the remote coastal Kutch region of Gujarat on the border with Pakistan. So far, the gas grid covers 14 of Gujarat’s 26 districts.
In June last year, Gujarat Petronet commissioned a 30-inch diameter, 120-km-long stretch from Surat to Vapi, connecting the Vapi industrial belt with Surat’s diamond-polishing hub. Gujarat Petronet’s gas grid is unique in India and has 1130-km of pipelines operational stretching from Vapi through Surat, Bharuch, Dahej, Vadodara and Ahmedabad, continuing to Kalol, Himmatnagar and Morbi, supplying households, factories, restaurants, commercial establishments and CNG stations along the way.
“The remaining 1070-km should be finished by the middle of 2010.â€