Karnataka considering Enron LNG pipeline, power projects

That the company’s representatives put up an "impressive" presentation to reveal these plans late last week. Chief Minister S M Krishna and many of his Cabinet colleagues sat through the one-and-a-half-hour presentation.

The pipeline proposed by Enron would begin from Enron’s Dahbol plant in Maharashtra and supply LNG to the State for various industrial needs. The pipeline would be four feet under the ground and would not affect agriculture, Chandrashekar said. LNG, which would be compressed 600 times and transported through the pipeline, was "easy to store, totally safe" and "non-toxic".

LNG supplied through the pipeline could be used for any industrial purpose. The multinational was even prepared to set up a power plant fired by the LNG, the Minister said.

Though the cost of the project and the power supplied by it were not discussed, the presentation was based on the study of a 500 MW LNG-based plant, Chandrashekar said.

Noting that LNG was the "most advantageous" fuel, the Minister said that emission of toxic gases (such as sulphur dioxide and carbon dioxide) would be far less in the LNG-based plant than in a coal-based or naptha-based plant. Besides, ash-disposal was lowest in such a plant. The cost of power-purchase from the LNG-based power plant would also be cheaper than any other power plant, including hydro-electric projects, he said.

Following the presentation, the State Government asked Enron to prepare concrete proposals for the projects. Krishna and Industries Minister R V Deshpande would visit Mumbai later this month to discuss the progress of the projects, Chandrashekar informed.