Easing Energy Woes: IOC Planning To Build India’s Longest LPG Pipeline      

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is planning to embark on an ambitious programme to build the country’s longest liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) pipeline.

The corporation, which caters to nearly half of country's 18 crore LPG consumers, will transport LPG from Kandla in Gujarat through a 1,987 km pipeline to Gorakhpur via Ahmedabad, Ujjain, Bhopal, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi and Lucknow.

The pipeline will carry 3.75 million tonnes of LPG per annum, state-owned IOC said in an application to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board, seeking approval for the pipeline project.

"The demand for LPG is increasing consistently in recent year. Further, due to the government's emphasis to make LPG available to every domestic household, its demand is expected to increase at much steeper rate in the coming year," IOC said.

If approved, this will become the biggest LPG pipeline in the country. Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) currently operates a 1,415-km line from Jamnagar in Gujarat to Loni near Ghaziabad which carries 2.5 million tonnes of LPG annually.

The proposed pipeline will connect eight bottling plants of IOC in central and northern India. IOC also said it is building additional capacities at Paradip, Cochin and Kandla to meet the increasing requirements.