Urja Ganga pipeline takes cheaper gas to hinterland: Officials

New Delhi: The 'Urja Ganga' pipeline, India's most ambitious project taking environment-friendly gas to so-far untouched areas, has transported natural gas at lower prices to the hinterland, helping expand the adoption of the cleaner fuel, official sources said. Traditionally, natural gas was available for use as fuel to generate electricity, make fertiliser or turn into CNG and cooking gas was available only in the Western and Northern parts of the country, as pipelines taking the fuel from source to users were limited to these parts.

JHBDPL is now ready to supply gas to eastern states

The Jagdishpur-Haldia-Bokaro-Dhamra Pipeline (JHBDPL), popularly called the Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga pipeline, is now ready to supply gas to the eastern states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal, said official sources. This has helped pass on the benefit of reduction in CNG and piped cooking gas prices to consumers in these regions following the government's decision to cut input natural gas prices.

GAIL was authorised to lay JHBDPL

Sources said that to carry the gas to the eastern states of India, state-owned gas utility GAIL (India) Ltd was authorised to lay JHBDPL. The government provided 40 percent viability gap funding amounting to Rs 5,176 crore for the execution of JHBDPL. Further, as a part of JHBDPL, GAIL is also laying the Barauni-Guwahati pipeline which shall act as a source for the Northeast Gas Grid pipeline being executed with 60 percent viability gap funding amounting to Rs 5,559 crore to connect all the Northeastern states to a natural gas source and supply gas to all parts of the country.

Urja Ganga pipeline leads to cheapest transportation of gas

The Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga pipeline will connect all the geographical areas (more than 90) spread over the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal, and further to the Northeastern Region of India.
With the completion of this project, the North Eastern/ Eastern part of India becomes an integral part of the gas-based economy with twin benefits of the cheapest transportation of gas through Urja Ganga and gas pricing reforms, they said.

Transportation tariff has been cut by about 50%

Under the unified tariff regulations recently notified by sector regulator Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB), transportation tariff has been cut by about 50 percent to Rs 99.9 per million British thermal units for the eastern parts, helping make the clean fuel more affordable.

Last week, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the revised domestic natural gas pricing guidelines for gas produced from nomination fields of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India Ltd. The price of such natural gas shall be 10 percent of the monthly average of the Indian crude basket and shall be notified on a monthly basis. The price for gas produced from nomination fields of ONGC/OIL shall have a floor and a ceiling. This has resulted in a reduction in gas price from USD 8.57 per mmBtu to USD 6.5 per mmBtu.

The reforms will lead to a significant decrease in prices of piped cooking gas for households and compressed natural gas (CNG) for transport, they said adding the reduced prices shall also lower the fertiliser subsidy burden and help the domestic power sector.

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