Informist, Wednesday, Mar 16, 2022

By Sunil Raghu

AHMEDABAD - After a delay of nearly seven years, Gujarat State Petronet Ltd is set to begin commercial operations of its 1,380-km Mehsana-Bhatinda natural gas transmission pipeline in April, a state government official told Informist.

The company has begun filling the pipeline with natural gas in the run-up to the commissioning, the official added.

Consequent to the commissioning, the company's existing transmission network of 2,700 km will increase by a little over 50% and there will be an immediate jump of 15% in natural gas volumes over the 32 mscmd it currently transmits.

"By the end of the first quarter of 2023-24 (Apr-Mar), the pipeline will add 10 mscmd in volume," the official said.

The pipeline was approved by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board in 2011 and was slated to be commissioned in 2016. The pipeline will connect natural gas sources in Gujarat to markets in north India.

The 1,380-km pipeline from Mehsana in Gujarat to Bhatinda in Punjab will supply gas to fertiliser companies, refineries and city gas distributors along the route, who have already signed gas purchase pacts.

The pipeline will connect operational liquefied natural gas terminals at Dahej, Hazira and Mundra as well as the upcoming ones at Chhara and Jafrabad in Gujarat to Indian Oil Corp Ltd's 15-mln-tn Panipat refinery, HPCL-Mittal Energy's 11.3-mln-tn Bhatinda refinery and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd's 9-mln-tn refinery at Barmer.

IOC's Panipat refinery currently gets gas from GAIL India Ltd but could use this pipeline for its capacity expansion, the official with the Gujarat government said.

The pipeline will also connect with fertiliser units at Panipat and Bhatinda of National Fertilizers Ltd, which currently source domestic gas and liquefied natural gas from GAIL.

City gas distribution projects in Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab also will be connected to this network, the state government official said.

The pipeline is being laid by GSPL India Gasnet Ltd, a special purpose vehicle set up by Gujarat State Petronet along with IOC, Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd and HPCL. Gujarat State Petronet has 52% stake in GSPL India Gasnet, IOC has 26%, and the rest is equally owned by BPCL and HPCL.

Earlier, GSPL India Gasnet planned to connect the Mehsana-Bhatinda pipeline to Srinagar, taking the pipeline length to 1,385 km, and which would help double its natural gas transmission capacity. In March 2021, GSPL India Gasnet surrendered the Bhatinda-Jammu section of the pipeline citing financial unviability of the project.

At 1514 IST, shares of Gujarat State Petro were up 1.2% at 262.50 rupees on the National Stock Exchange.  End

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

Edited by Ashish Shirke

Cogencis news is now Informist. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt Ltd.

Informist, Wednesday, Mar 16, 2022

By Sunil Raghu

AHMEDABAD - After a delay of nearly seven years, Gujarat State Petronet Ltd is set to begin commercial operations of its 1,380-km Mehsana-Bhatinda natural gas transmission pipeline in April, a state government official told Informist.

The company has begun filling the pipeline with natural gas in the run-up to the commissioning, the official added.

Consequent to the commissioning, the company's existing transmission network of 2,700 km will increase by a little over 50% and there will be an immediate jump of 15% in natural gas volumes over the 32 mscmd it currently transmits.

"By the end of the first quarter of 2023-24 (Apr-Mar), the pipeline will add 10 mscmd in volume," the official said.

The pipeline was approved by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board in 2011 and was slated to be commissioned in 2016. The pipeline will connect natural gas sources in Gujarat to markets in north India.

The 1,380-km pipeline from Mehsana in Gujarat to Bhatinda in Punjab will supply gas to fertiliser companies, refineries and city gas distributors along the route, who have already signed gas purchase pacts.

The pipeline will connect operational liquefied natural gas terminals at Dahej, Hazira and Mundra as well as the upcoming ones at Chhara and Jafrabad in Gujarat to Indian Oil Corp Ltd's 15-mln-tn Panipat refinery, HPCL-Mittal Energy's 11.3-mln-tn Bhatinda refinery and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd's 9-mln-tn refinery at Barmer.

IOC's Panipat refinery currently gets gas from GAIL India Ltd but could use this pipeline for its capacity expansion, the official with the Gujarat government said.

The pipeline will also connect with fertiliser units at Panipat and Bhatinda of National Fertilizers Ltd, which currently source domestic gas and liquefied natural gas from GAIL.

City gas distribution projects in Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab also will be connected to this network, the state government official said.

The pipeline is being laid by GSPL India Gasnet Ltd, a special purpose vehicle set up by Gujarat State Petronet along with IOC, Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd and HPCL. Gujarat State Petronet has 52% stake in GSPL India Gasnet, IOC has 26%, and the rest is equally owned by BPCL and HPCL.

Earlier, GSPL India Gasnet planned to connect the Mehsana-Bhatinda pipeline to Srinagar, taking the pipeline length to 1,385 km, and which would help double its natural gas transmission capacity. In March 2021, GSPL India Gasnet surrendered the Bhatinda-Jammu section of the pipeline citing financial unviability of the project.

At 1514 IST, shares of Gujarat State Petro were up 1.2% at 262.50 rupees on the National Stock Exchange.  End

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

Edited by Ashish Shirke

Cogencis news is now Informist. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt Ltd.