Eco-friendly natural gas fuel to Tri-City soon : Dharminder Pardhan

Eco-friendly natural gas fuel to households, vehicles, commercial and industrial units in the Tri-City soon : Dharmendra Pradhan

Sky Hawk Times

S.A.S. Nagar, 11 November 

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, today inaugurated the first CNG (compressed natural gas) station of Punjab at an lndianOil petrol pump in Sector 56, Mohali; the first CNG station of Chandigarh at an lndianOil petrol pump in Sector 44, and also lit the first PNG (piped natural gas) connection at EWS Society of Sector 46, Chandigarh; in the august presence of Shri. Vijay Sampla, Minister of State, Social Justice & Empowerment, Smt. Kirron Kher, Member of Parliament and Shri. S.Prem Singh Chandumajra , Member of Parliament and a host of dignitaries from all walks of life. Education Minister Dr. Daljit Singh Cheema also present .

The launch of these projects heralds the commencement of supply of eco-friendly natural gas fuel to households, vehicles, commercial and industrial units in the Tri-City of Chandigarh and its adjoining areas of Mohali, Zirakpur, Bannur, Kharad, Kalka, Baddi and Nalagarh. The city gas distribution (CGD) project of Chandigarh is being implemented by lndianOil Adani Gas Pvt. Ltd. (IOAGPL), a 50:50 joint venture of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. and Adani Gas Ltd.

The project, with an estimated investment of over Rs.400 crore, will cater PNG to more than 5 lakh households, and provide CNG to over 30,000 vehicles through 20 CNG stations. Over 3,000 km of steel and medium-density polyethylene (MDPE) pipes will be laid in the Chandigarh geographical area as part of the project to take the eco-friendly fuel to the doorsteps of consumers. Already 110 km of steel pipeline, 50 km of MDPE pipeline and 2 CNG stations have been completed.

With the commissioning of the CGD project, it will be possible to shift over 5 lakh LPG cooking gas connections from Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula and adjoining areas of Zirakpur, Kalka, Baddi & Nalagarh to households in rural areas. Natural gas is a clean and environment-friendly fuel and is also safe and convenient to use because of it being lighter than air and with lower flammability range. Besides being cheaper than LPG, PNG offers assured supply and convenience. The project shall also help the transport sector in the States of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh to convert to eco-friendly and economical CNG. Use of natural gas in the industrial sector shall help in eliminating polluting emissions.

A CGD project. is now considered a key infrastructure element for a Smart City. The proposed CGD project is, therefore, expected to play a significant role in making Chandigarh a Smart City. It shall also help in reducing air pollution and help keep the TriCity clean and green. IOAGPL is also implementing CGD projects at Panipat (H'aryana), Allahabad (UP), Udhamsingh Nagar (Uttarakhand), Daman (UT), Dharwad (Karnataka) and Ernakulum  (Kerala). lndianOil also currently operates city 933 diStflbUtIO" networks in Agra and Lucknow through Green Gas Ltd., its joint venture with GAIL (India) Ltd As on September 2016, 237 lndianOll retail outlets offer CNG station facility across the states of Maharashtra, Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh , Madhya Pradesh , West Bengal , Rajasthan and North East. About lndianOil: Indian Oil Corporation (lndlanOll) is India's largest commercial enterprise. with a sales turnover of Rs. 3, 99, 601 crore (US$ 61 billion) and profits of Rs. 10, 399 crore (US$ 1,589 million) for the year 2015-16. lndianOil Is ranked 161st among the world's largest corporates (and first among Indian enterprlses) In the prestlgious Fortune ‘Global 500’ listing for the year 2016. lndianOil's business Interests straddle the entire hydrocarbon value-chain -from refining, pipeline transportation and marketing of petroleum products to exploration & production of crude oil & gas, marketing of natural gas and petrochemicals, besides forays Into alternative energy and globalisation of downstream operations.