Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has won the licence to lay a 312-km pipeline to transport coal bed methane (CBM) gas produced from the company’s Shogapur block in Madhya Pradesh to Phulpur in Uttar Pradesh.
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) issued the necessary authorisation on July 11 to Reliance Gas Transportation Infrastructure Ltd. (RGPL), an arm of RIL, to lay the pipeline, which will have a capacity to transport 4.3 million metric standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd) of gas, including 0.875 mmscmd which will be available for any third-party for open access on non-discriminatory basis.
At Phulpur, the pipeline may be hooked to GAIL India’s main Hazira-Vijaypur-Jagdishpur (HVJ) trunk gas pipeline. This would enable gas to flow to any consumer. RIL plans to produce 3.5 mmscmd of gas from its Sohagpur (East) and Sohagpur (West) CBM blocks in Shahdol from 2015. RGPL has furnished a performance bond of Rs.13.02 crore as guarantee for timely commissioning of the project.
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PNGRB said RGPL shall be required to take prior approval from the Board for creation of any lien or charge or hypothecation on the assets of the natural gas pipeline to secure finances for the project and furnish details of utilisation of funds.