A pipeline right to use (RoU) sharing agreement has been inked between Numaligarh Refinery (NRL) and Indradhanush Gas Grid (IGGL), which is a joint venture of NRL with the Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), the Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), the Gas Authority of India (GAIL) and Oil India (OIL).
NRL is in the process of laying 1,630 km long Paradip Numaligarh Crude Pipeline (PNCPL), a crude pipeline originating from Paradip Port in Odisha and traversing through West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, before terminating at its refinery in Numaligarh in Assam.
The pipeline project is a crucial part of NRL’s mega integrated refinery expansion project for capacity expansion from three million tpa to nine million tpa, which is being executed with an investment of over Rs 28,000 crore.
IGGL is executing the laying of a natural gas pipeline from Guwahati to Numaligarh as part of its marquee project for connecting India’s North-East Region (NER) with the National Gas Grid.
IGGL’s natural gas pipelines will connect Guwahati to major cities of NER like Itanagar, Dimapur, Kohima, Imphal, Aizwal, Agartala, Shillong, Silchar, Gangtok and Numaligarh.
NRL and IGGL’s pipeline sharing agreement leverages synergies between the PNCPL project and NER Gas Grid project as the pipelines share a common route from Baihata (North Guwahati) to Numaligarh for around 386 km.
The RoU model streamlines land acquisition and resource sharing for optimal execution of pipeline laying work and subsequently, efficient operations of the pipeline.
This pact follows NRL’s earlier pipeline RoU sharing agreement with GAIL, signed on 14 October 2020, for 550 km stretch from Purnia in Bihar to Baihata, also a part of the Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga project.
These agreements form important milestones in the government of India’s Hydrocarbon Vision 2030 for North-East India which seeks to leverage the region’s hydrocarbon potential for enhancing access to clean fuel in line with NER’s growing demand for petroleum products, and also underline NRL’s key role in ushering in socio-economic development of the region.
