The Hindu Business Line : `Dahej-Uran gas pipeline EPC tendering in a fortnight'

THE Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) contract for the Rs 1,400-crore gas transmission pipeline spanning the 500-km stretch between Dahej and Uran will come up for tendering in the next 15 days.

This would follow close on heels of the Petronet LNG Ltd dedicating to the nation the country's first LNG terminal on Monday, where the Rs 2,900 crore, 610-km gas grid between Dahej and Bijaipur would also be inaugurated.

"Tractebel India had already been appointed project management consultant towards this on February 2.The tendering for the EPC contract of the Dahej-Uran line is expected to come through in a fortnight's time. The deadline for commissioning the Dahej-Uran line is April 2005, to take advantage of the gas that would be ready to flow from Shell's Hazira LNG terminal, which is now expected to be 4 mmscmd. The RoU along this stretch is at and advanced stage," Mr Proshanto Banerjee, Chairman and Managing Director, GAIL India Ltd, told Business Line.

The 610-km Dahej-Bijaipur grid that will supplement GAIL's existing HBJ pipeline cost the company Rs 2,900 crore on account of its compression station and the girth at 42 inches. As against that the Dahej-Uran line taking gas to the outskirts of Mumbai has a diameter of 30 inches and hence the cost has been pegged at Rs 1,400 crore, said Mr B.S Negi, Director, Planning, GAIL.

"The third phase would come with the 1,600-km Kakinada-Uran pipeline which will be timed to coincide with the commercial production gas at the KG basin, both by Reliance and the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC). Simultaneously, GAIL would also go in for two more grids connecting Kakinada - with Kolkata and Chennai. This would come by 2008 even as our 10 per cent stake in the Myanmar field will ensure more core business as GAIL is the transporter for the entire quantum of 56 mmscmd," Mr Negi said.

Meanwhile, GSPC had become the 25th customer for GAIL's share of RLNG from the Dahej terminal of Petronet LNG Ltd. Out of the 3.96 mmscmd of gas that the central PSU has contracted till date, some of the other major users include IPCL (0.75 mmscmd), GNFC (0.4 mmscmd), GSFC (0.3 mmscmd) - all in Gujarat and Indraprastha Gas (0.6 mmscmd) and Maruti Udyog Ltd (0.5 mmscmd). Now, GAIL is also actively looking at getting into gas distribution in the Rajkot circle that has been allocated to it by the Gujarat Government.

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