Jharkhand Government and GAIL signed Gas Cooperation Agreement :: will facilitate construction of “Urja Ganga” Jagdishpur – Haldia Pipeline project in the state.

Ranchi, Jharkhand | October | 15, 2015 :: Carrying forward the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to connect eastern India to the Natural Gas grid, the Government of Jharkhand and GAIL (India) Limited signed a Gas Cooperation Agreement (GCA) for creation of Natural Gas and City Gas Distribution infrastructure, which will facilitate construction of “Urja Ganga” Jagdishpur – Haldia Pipeline project in the state.

The GCA was signed here in the presence of Raghubar Das [ Chief Minister of Jharkhand ] and B C Tripathi [ GAIL Chairman and Managing Director ] by K Ravi Kumar, IAS, Director, Industries, Government of Jharkhand and A K Jana, GAIL Executive Director (Marketing – Joint Venture & International Gas Sourcing).

The Jagdishpur – Haldia Pipeline (JHPL) is slated to pass through six districts of Jharkhand, i.e., Bokaro, Giridih, Hazaribagh, Singhbhum, Ranchi and Dhanbad. It will have a total of 340 kms in the state, of which 174 kms will be mainline and 166 kms spurlines.

The pipeline can be used to provide Natural Gas as fuel to the Steel Authority of India plant in Bokaro, fertilizer plant at Sindri which is under revival and proposed CGD networks in Ranchi and Jamshedpur. It is estimated that the Natural Gas demand in Jharkhand can reach 8.80 MMSCMD.

As part of the GCA signed today, GAIL and the Jharkhand Government will evaluate ways for cooperation in development of use of eco-friendly fuel Natural Gas and related infrastructure, promotion of Joint Venture for CGD projects and study various options to evaluate the energy demand (including for Natural Gas, LPG and other liquid hydrocarbons) in the state.

The Department of Industries of the Jharkhand Government shall coordinate grant of all necessary permissions and clearances required for development of Natural Gas, CGD, distribution infrastructure and associated facilities.

The GCA will also facilitate establishment of pipeline connectivity from the seven Coal Bed Methane (CBM) blocks awarded in the state to various consumption centres.

The 2,000 km-long JHPL, the ‘Energy Highway’ of Eastern India being constructed by GAIL, will carry eco-friendly Natural Gas to eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

GAIL, a Maharatna Public Sector Undertaking, is India’s premier Natural Gas company and operates 11,000 kms of pipelines. Its activities range from Gas Transmission and Marketing to Processing (for fractionating LPG, Propane, SBP Solvent and Pentane); transmission of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG); production and marketing of Petrochemicals like HDPE and LLDPE and leasing bandwidth in Telecommunications. The company has extended its presence in Power, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) re-gasification, City Gas Distribution and Exploration & Production through equity and joint venture participations.