The Mukesh Ambani controlled, Reliance Gas Transportation India Limited (RGTIL) on Friday executed a Gas Tranmission Agreement (GTA) with the state-owned GAIL (India) Limited for transporting natural gas from the D6 exploration block of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), located in the Krishna Godavari basin on the eastern coast.
Under the agreement, RGTIL will use GAIL’s pipelines, including the KG basin pipeline, Dahej Uran Pipeline (DUPL), Dahej Vijapur Pipeline (DVPL) and the Dahej Panval Pipeline (DPPL), for sale of the D6 block gas to its customers in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and other states.
In return RGTIL, which is constructing a 14,000 km East West pipeline network (Kakinada-Hyderabad-Uran-Ahmedabad), will also allow GAIL to book capacities on this route for marketing its share of KG basin gas.
It may be recalled that RIL and GAIL had entered into a master agreement in March this year, where RIL had agreed to give GAIL a share of its KG basin gas. It will be this gas for which GAIL will be allowed to use RGTIL’s east-west pipeline network for sale to its customers. GAIL will provide inter-connectivity ro RGTIL at three to four locations including Oduru in Andhra Pradesh, Mhuskal in Maharashtra and Ankot in Gujarat
When contacted, the chairman and managing director GAIL, U D Choubey confirmed signing of the GTA agreement with RGTIL. Asked to comment, he said, “The agreement is in line with the common carrier principal required under the regulatory framework. Under the agreement, GAIL will provide interconnectivity to RGTIL pipelines. While RGTIL will use GAIL’s network for sale of gas to various consumers in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat besides others,
GAIL will also use RGTIL’s network for supplies to its consumers.”
As per the common carrier principle, the pipelines should make available 33 percent of the capacity to others on an open access basis. The capacity of RGTIL’s East-West pipeline is 120 mmscmd of gas and is expected to be ready by March 2008. Nearly 1,800 Chinese workers are involved in the project.