GAIL pipeline project granted extension

Indian gas transmission and marketing company GAIL has won a second extension for the completion of its Kochi-Mangalore natural gas pipeline. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) granted the new 2019 deadline as a result of protests impeding previous work and causing substantial delays.

“Considering the recommendation of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and the state of unprecedented socio-political hindrance in execution of the project, PNGRB has decided to revise the completion schedule from June 2015 to February 2019,” PNGRB said in a statement released December 8, 2016. 

The USD 675 million pipeline is set to span 1,104 kilometres, connecting Kochi, Koottanad, Bangalore and Mangalore. Phase one of the pipeline, a 44-kilometre line connecting gas imported to Kochi to a LNG terminal in the city has been completed. Phase two, originally set to be completed in June 2015, has met constant opposition from farmers over land rights, with heavy protesting in the Malappuram and Kozhikode districts.

The pipeline is an extremely valuable piece of infrastructure for India’s gas industry, which currently has Petronet LNG’s 5-million-tpy Kochi LNG import facility running at less than 5% capacity because there is no way to transport the gas to consumers. The pipeline is likewise integral to optimising various other gas infrastructure in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.