RIL Lines Up $12 bn For Gas Find, Transport

New Delhi: Reliance Industries is looking at an investments of over $12 billion for production of gas from its fields in the Krishna-Godavari basin and its transport to consumers across the country. While $5.2 billion will be spent on bringing the gas to production, a larger chunk of $7 billion will be invested in building gas pipes to transport it to consuming locations. Production of gas from the K-G basin will begin by June 2008, the company''s president (oil and gas). There are three key pipelines that are being planned by the Mukesh Ambani-controlled company from Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh - a 1,386-km pipeline to Bharuch in Gujarat at an investment of $4 billion, and two coastal pipelines to West Bengal and Chennai at an investment of $3-3.5 billion. The Mumbai-based company has already signed contracts worth $4.5 billion with suppliers of pipes, machinery and pumping equipment, out of the planned $5.2 billion investment in production of gas. The investment plan raises Mukesh Ambani''s expenditure in his oil, gas, refining, chemical and retail businesses to over $28 billion by 2011. Currently, only a handful of cities have access to piped gas, since India is a gas deficit country with domestic production meeting only half the country''s needs. The largest users of gas at present are power and fertiliser units. Gas consumption may rise to 400 million cubic metres a day by 2025 if the economy grows at the projected rate of 8 per cent a year. At present, there is a demand of 170 million cubic metres a day, while supply stands at 93 million cubic metres a day.