Adding another 300-km to Gujarat gas grid
Gujarat State Petronet is planning to extend its statewide pipeline grid by 300-km to 2500-km from the originally envisaged target of 2200-km.
Since January 31 this year, Gujarat Petronet’s existing 1573-km pipeline network transmits on average 35m cm/d, and is today the principal driver behind parent company GSPC’s flourishing gas trading business. Another 949-km will be added in time to receive first gas from GSPC’s KG basin block in 2012.
“Most of this additional 949-km will be laid in north Gujarat and the Saurashtra peninsula,” confirms a source. “This will take the network beyond the 2200-km target originally planned when it was first set up, to touch nearly 2500-km.
” This additional planned pipeline length will be made up of medium to high-pressure pipe of varying diameters, he adds. The first 115-km should be completed in 2010, followed by 494-km in 2011 and another 340-km in 2012.
“Gujarat Petronet’s grid already covers 16 of Gujarat’s 26 districts,” we hear. “The remaining 10 districts will also be covered in the next three years.
” For now Gujarat Petronet is busy getting Right of User (RoU) permission for the proposed addition to its network, which is already the second largest in India after GAIL’s countrywide grid, dominated by the HBJ. “In the last 10 years Gujarat Petronet’s network has grown from covering just 14-km,” says our company source, “to over 1500-km, reaching almost every corner of the state.
The network is available to any gas transmitter on a non-discriminatory basis and Gujarat Petronet does not own the gas which is transmitted.” Gujarat Petronet has long-term contracts with several major customers, including a 15-year contract with Reliance to transmit 11m cm/d of D6 gas from Bharuch to Jamnagar and a 20-year agreement with Torrent to transport 4.5m cm/d of D6 gas to the Sugen power station.