The Hindu Business Line : Reliance investing Rs 8,000 cr in AP-Bengal gas pipeline

Kolkata April 17 Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) may invest up to Rs 8,000 crore in the proposed 1,100-km gas pipeline from Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh to Howrah in West Bengal.

The pipeline will connect West Bengal to the company's major finds in the Krishna-Godavari (KG) and Mahanadi-NEC basins.

Additional investments ranging up to Rs 5,000 crore may be made in creating city gas distribution infrastructure in Kolkata, Howrah, Hoogly, Midnapore and Burdwan.

RIL is expecting to supply 3.5 million metric standard cubic metre of natural gas a day (mmscmd) for city gas usage in the five locations.

Speaking to newspersons today, Mr R.P. Sharma, President of RIL's LNG business, said that the company had already invited expressions of interest for common access of the pipeline.

The offer will close this month, following which the company will finalise the pipeline's capacity.

However, since no other producer has ready development plans for production and sale of gas along this corridor, the company is likely to go ahead with its own marketing plans in the region.

RIL has already promised to reach natural gas in the region by 2009-10. The company has also entered into an MoU with the State Government in this regard.

Though Mr Sharma did not elaborate on the quantity of gas RIL plans to sell in West Bengal, he said that the pipeline would not be viable for capacities less than 10 mmscmd.

"We currently depend on the West Bengal Government to identify the user industries. Alternatively. we will directly market natural gas to industries in the State."

The company has finalised plans to produce 80 mmscmd of gas from the KG basin and is preparing development plans for finds in the Mahanadi-NEC block.