Indian Gov to Fund NE Gas Pipe Project

The Indian government has approved a rupees 55bn ($770mn) in funding for a gas pipeline in the northeastern part of the country, the ministry of petroleum and natural gas said January 8 in a statement.

The total length of the pipeline would be 1,656-km and is expected to cost about rupees 93bn. Under the plan, the gas grid will be developed in the eight states of the northeastern region - Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.

“The pipeline grid would ensure reliability and uninterrupted natural gas supplies to the consumers which otherwise gets severely affected due to various reasons in this part of the country,” the ministry said, adding that availability of natural gas across the region is expected to boost industrial growth without impacting the environment.

The project is being implemented by Indradhanush Gas Grid (IGGL), a joint venture comprising Gail, Indian Oil, ONGC, Oil India and Numaligarh Refinery. The gas grid will get the natural gas supply from Gail's Barauni - Guwahati pipeline, which is a part of Jagdishpur – Haldia & Bokaro – Dhamra Natural Gas Pipeline project. 

The present Indian government is focused on expanding the country's use of gas, setting a goal of raising its share of the overall energy mix from 6-7% at present to 15% by 2030.