National:
India investing $60 billion on gas grid to link up nation by 2024
India, one of the world’s largest consumers of oil and coal, is investing $60 billion to build a national gas grid and import terminals by 2024 in a bid to cut its carbon emissions, the oil minister said.
India has struggled to boost its use of gas, which produces less greenhouse gas emissions than coal and oil, because many industries and towns are not linked to the gas pipeline network.
Gas consumption growth was running at 11% in 2010 but growth slid to just 2.5% in the financial year 2018/19.
Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told reporters at India Energy Forum by Ceraweek that companies were investing $60 billion in the network and building new gas import facilities to link all states by mid-2024, when the government’s term ends.
“I am not talking about potential investment. This number relates to the project that are under execution,” he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has previously set a target to more than double the share of gas in India’s energy mix to 15% by 2030.
India’s biggest gas utility Gail Ltd (GAIL.NS) has said it was close to completing the 2,660 km (1,660 miles) Urja Ganga pipeline project, connecting the eastern states of Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha. The pipeline will have capacity for 16 million standard cubic meters per day (mscmd) of gas.
“The Urja Ganga project … will be ready by the end of 2020,” Pradhan said on the conference sidelines.
India’s overall gas consumption is about 166 mscmd.
The minister said the government had started building the northeast gas grid to connect eight states in northeastern India, a region bordering Bhutan, Myanmar, Bangladesh and China. He said the grid would be ready by 2023.
He added that, before the end of government’s current term, “India will be connected by a pipeline ring that will help transport gas from any corner of India to a demand center.”
Most of India’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminals are in the west, making it difficult for the industry in the east and elsewhere to secure regular gas supplies.
https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/india-investing-60-billion-gas-grid-to-link-up-nation-by-2024/
Indraprastha Gas given Govt authorization for Ghaziabad CGD network
Indraprastha Gas received authorization from the government for development of city gas distribution network in Uttar Pradesh.
Indraprastha Gas (IGL) said it received letter dated 11 October 2019 from Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) regarding acceptance of central government authorization to IGL for Ghaziabad city gas distribution (CGD) network (Ghaziabad and Hapur districts).
PNGRB granted infrastructure exclusivity for laying building or expansion of the CGD network during the economic life of the project (25 years) i.e upto year 2032 considering the year 2007 as the start of the CGD activity for the said project.
PNGRB also granted exclusivity from the purview of the contract carrier or common carrier for five years from the date of issue of acceptance of central government authorization. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 11 October 2019.
