Bidding for gas pipelines to began soon

24 August 2013
Kochi

Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB), vested with the power of inviting tenders for laying gas pipelines in the country, is expected to invite bids soon for the pipeline supplying natural gas to domestic consumers under the City Gas Distribution project.

The process was likely to be initiated next month, a senior official of the New Delhi-based Board told. PNGRB had invited bids for CGD network for eight cities including Kochi in October 2010 in the fourth round of bidding for gas pipelines, but they were cancelled later on official grounds. Stakeholders were understood to have insisted on revision of guidelines for bidding process, which led to the cancellation. The guidelines have been revised and the new ones will be applicable to the fresh bidders.

Other than Ernakulam, the geographical areas involved in the fourth round were Rangareddy, Medak, Nalgonda and Khammam districts in Andhra Pradesh; Alibag, Lonavala/Khapoli in Maharashtra; Guna in Madhya Pradesh; and Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh. Bids would be invited for those areas in the next round, the official said. With a vessel carrying liquefied natural gas having arrived at the Petronet LNG terminal at Puthuvype earlier this week, it is a matter of days before the supply of regasified LNG to consumers begins.

Bulk consumers in the industrial sector will get gas in the initial phase. Piped natural gas (PNG), under the CGS project, could be supplied to domestic consumers through pipelines connected to the main lines, once the process being initiated by PNGRB is completed.

GAIL India has already laid natural gas pipelines beginning from the LNG terminal at Puthuvype to Udyogamandal and Ambalamugal within the city, for the industrial consumers of FACT and BPCL Kochi. The city gas distribution network could be connected to these pipelines for onward domestic supply.

Source– http://www.thehindu.com/

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