As part of India’s larger energy diplomacy, the government is planning to extend the North Eastern Gas Grid (NEGG) to neighboring countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan after its completion in the next two months.
According to officials of the petroleum ministry, work on the NEGG, which aims to create a natural gas pipeline network in northeastern India, is nearing completion. Once finished, it will be connected to the national grid and then to the other countries. Later, the government will also expand the pipelines to Sri Lanka and Myanmar.
“The proposal was sent to the Ministry of External Affairs, and they would further decide how to take it forward. They would talk to the concerned neighbouring countries for implementation of the project,” said an official.
The purpose of the move is to promote cross border energy trade and South Asia first policy. India planned to connect Myanmar and Bangladesh through an LNG pipeline, but later it was shelved.
The national gas grid is already operational, but interconnections at a few locations are yet to be completed. It will be connected with the northeastern gas grid in the next two months. The official also mentioned that this move will increase natural gas production in the country, as ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation) is currently unable to produce much gas due to supply issues.
