Kochi-Mangalore Natural Gas pipeline

In news 

The Prime Minister of India inaugurated 450km Kochi-Mangalore Natural Gas pipeline built at the cost of Rs. 3000 crore

Areas covered under the pipeline

The pipeline will carry natural gas from Kochi in Kerala through Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasargod districts to Mangaluru in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka.

Key announcements

• Launching the project, the Prime Minister said that the Natural gas pipeline network will be doubled in 5-6 years and CNG stations will be raised to 10,000 from the current 1,500.
• He also announced that in 10 years’ time, petrol will be doped with as much as 20 per cent of ethanol extracted from sugarcane and other agro products. This would help cut reliance on imports for meeting oil needs as well as reduce carbon emissions
• He stated that the share of natural gas in the energy basket is being targeted to be raised to 15 per cent from the current 6.2 per cent. The pipeline grid will help improve clean energy access as well as also aid in the development of city gas projects

Status of CNG stations and connections

• The Prime Minister said 900 CNG stations were set up till 2014 after the advent of compressed natural gas as fuel for automobiles in the country around 1992. In the last six years, the number of CNG stations has gone up to 1,500 and the target is to take them to 10,000
• 25 lakh households had piped natural gas connections for using the fuel for cooking purposes till 2014 which has risen to 72 lakh now.

Present Natural Gas Pipelines in India

At present, there are about 16800 km long Natural Gas pipeline network which is operational in the country. In order to make available natural gas across the country, it has been envisaged to develop additional about 14,300 km pipelines to complete the National Gas Grid and same are at various stages of development. This would ensure easy availability of natural gas across all regions and also potentially help to achieve uniform economic and social progress. A brief of major gas pipeline projects which are being implemented by Central Government PSUs are as under:

Jagdishpur – Haldia/Bokaro – Dhamra Pipeline Project (JHBDPL) & Barauni- Guwahati Pipeline project (BGPL): 

• GAIL is executing a 2655 km. long pipeline project. Phase-I of the project from Phulpur upto Dobhi (Gaya) with spur line to Varanasi, Patna, Gorakhpur & Barauni has been commissioned in 2019. 
• Government, in September 2016, took a policy decision to provide 40% grant for this pipeline project which is also popularly known has as ‘Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga (PMUG) for Eastern India’. 
• Timely development of this project is supporting the revival of 3 Fertilizer Plants namely located at Gorakhpur, Barauni and Sindri and new Fertilizer Unit at Durgapur. 
• Further, Pipeline from Barauni to Guwahati is also being implemented as an integral part JHBDPL project to connect North East Region (NER) with the National Gas Grid. 
• The approx. length of the pipeline is 729 km.
• The entire project will cater to the energy demand of Eastern and North-Eastern Region covering six states, namely Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal and Assam.

North East Region (NER) Gas Grid: 

• A joint venture of five (05) oil and gas CPSEs i.e. GAIL, IOCL, OIL, ONGC and NRL named as “Indradhanush Gas Grid Ltd” (IGGL) has been entrusted to develop trunk pipeline connectivity in all North Eastern States i.e. Assam, Sikkim, Mizoram, Manipur, Aruncahal Pradesh, Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya in a phased manner. 
• Prime objective of these pipelines would be to transport the domestic natural gas produced in the north east states and the same may first cater to the local requirements. 
• It shall also connect the NER grid to the National Gas Grid.

Kochi-Koottanad- Bangalore-Mangalore (Ph-II) Pipeline Project (KKBMPL) :

• 41 Km of Phase-I of pipeline has been commissioned and 887 Km of Phase-II is under progress in two sections. Construction work by GAIL of Kochi-Koottanad- Mangalore Section (444 Kms) is under progress and expected to be commissioned shortly. 
• Work on other section is under progress.

Ennore-Thiruvallur-Bangalore-Nagapattinum– Madurai – Tuticorin Natural gas pipeline (ETBNMTPL):

• IOCL is laying Ennore-Thiruvallur-Bangalore-Nagapattinum– Madurai – Tuticorin Natural gas pipeline (ETBNMTPL), length- 1385 km. 
• This pipeline will connect new Ennore LNG Terminal with various demand centres in the region.