Gail to pump Rs 13,000 cr

Gail plans to invest about Rs 13,000 crore in new pipeline projects and will expand its petrochemical business. The company plans to lay a Rs 3,000 crore Jagdishpur-Haldia pipeline, Rs 3,000 crore Dadri-Nangal pipeline, Rs 2,000 crore Kochi-Coimbatore-Bangalore pipeline and Rs 5,000 crore Kakinada-Uran pipeline, CMD Proshanto Banerjee said.

While the first two pipelines will have a capacity of 12 million standard cubic meters per day each and will carry LNG imported at Dahej in Gujarat, the third pipeline would carry gas from the upcoming LNG import terminal at Kochi in Kerala. The Kakinada-Uran pipeline is being planned to transport the government’s share of gas from the fields in the Krishna Godavari basin in Bay of Bengal. “Our estimate is that the profit gas from KG basin fields can sustain a pipeline of 12 million standard cubic meters per day,” he said.

He asserted that Rs 13,000 crore was a rough estimate of the pipeline cost and actual cost would be known when the feasibility reports are done.

Gail is also planning to put Rs 5,200 crore for a 28,000 tonne Assam complex and Rs 7,000 crore in a 700,000 tonnes petrochemical complex in Kochi. In Iran, a 1 mn tonne gas cracker is being planned.