NRL (Numaligarh Refinery Ltd) and IGGL (Indradhanush Gas Grid Ltd) on Friday entered into an agreement for a pipeline sharing agreement to reduce gas transport costs.

The pipeline ‘Right to Use’ (RoU) sharing agreement is a mutually beneficial arrangement for both organizations and was signed by the GM Project (NRL) and Chief Project Manager (IGGL) said a senior officer of the Petroleum Ministry.

NRL is in the process of laying the 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 (Assam).

The pipeline project is a crucial part of NRL’s mega Integrated Refinery Expansion project for capacity expansion from 3MMTPA to 9 MMTPA, which is being executed with an investment of more than Rs. 28,000 crores.

Similarly, the 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, said a senior officer of the Petroleum Ministry.

This pact follows NRL’s earlier pipeline RoU sharing agreement with GAIL in October last year for a 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 the socio-economic development of the region.