Idco-IOCL pact on piped gas on July 27

The MoU is meant for natural gas infrastructure, city gas distribution and supply of gas to industries

The Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) is going to ink a pact with oil marketing major Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) on July 27 for development of gas distribution infrastructure in the state.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which will be signed in presence of Suresh Pujari, state industries minister, is meant for natural gas infrastructure, city gas distribution and supply of gas to industries.

As per the terms of the draft MoU, both entities would explore possible co-operation in the areas of total energy solutions, especially natural gas.

They would also strive towards development of infrastructure such as pipelines, city gas distribution network and LNG (liquefied natural gas) import terminals for ensuring availability of natural gas to all consumers in domestic, commercial, industrial and transport sectors after obtaining all due permissions from regulatory bodies.

To meet the demand of natural gas in the eastern region, IOCL has plans to set up a five million tonne per annum LNG terminal at Dhamara. IOCL has already entered into a MoU with Dhamara Port Company Ltd (DPCL) for the project.

It may be noted that Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB), the upstream regulator for the petroleum sector, had identified nine locations in the state-Bhubaneswar, Khurda, Rourkela, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Anandpur, Baripada, Balasore and Kamakhyanagar for development of the city gas distribution network (CGD).

The CGD network would involve distribution of compressed natural gas (CNG) and LNG for domestic and industrial use.