GAIL’s Kochi-Mangaluru natural gas pipeline, which is supplying natural gas to Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd (MCF), will soon connect other companies such as Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) and ONGC Mangalore Petrochemicals Ltd (OMPL) in Mangaluru.

Addressing a press conference on a digital platform on Saturday, Manoj Jain, Chairman and Managing Director of GAIL, said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate GAIL’s Kochi-Mangaluru natural gas pipeline to the nation on January 5.

Stating that the 450-km pipeline is already supplying natural gas to MCF, he said, “We will shortly be connecting OMPL and MRPL for supplying gas to them. We expect to connect MRPL and OMPL within January.”

Also read: With GAIL pipeline in place, Petronet LNG eyes higher capacity utilisation in Kochi

GAIL is supplying 0.6-0.7 million standard cubic metres per day (mscmd) of natural gas to MCF now. The company is expecting to supply another 0.5-07 mscmd to OMPL and MRPL in a short period of time, he said.

GAIL supplies natural gas from Kochi LNG terminal of PLL (Petronet LNG Ltd) to Mangaluru. The connectivity from Kochi to Mangaluru will improve the capacity utilisation of the terminal, and the natural gas supply will be spread all across Kerala and the Mangaluru region of Karnataka, Jain said.

The pipeline will cater to 10 city gas distribution (CGD) companies, paving the way for domestic piped natural gas (PNG) connections to households, he said, adding it will also help fuel vehicles through compressed natural gas (CNG). He said the industries that are using coal, petcoke or furnace oil as fuel can take the benefit of the pipeline to run their units.

Also read: MCF shifts to natural gas as feedstock for fertiliser production

To a query on GAIL’s plans for the rest of Karnataka, he said the company is in the final stages of the Bengaluru-Krishnagiri pipeline project. “Maybe in three-four months we will be connecting the Hosur area,” he added.

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