New Delhi, Dec. 27: GAIL (India) today placed a Rs 405-crore order for the supply of pipes for its Dahej-Uran pipeline (DUPL) project which has got delayed due to the controversy over the technological choice for the pipes. The gas major also placed another order worth Rs 80 crore for the Vijaipur-Kota pipeline project.

The supply of pipes will now commence from April next and the 500-km pipeline will be completed by February 2007.

GAIL has already placed orders for critical items such as valves, joints, elbows and fittings the delivery of which has already commenced. The Maharashtra market, which is currently facing about 50 per cent shortfall in gas supplies, is expected to benefit from the Dahej-Uran project.

The inter-state gas pipeline would link Gujarat and Maharashtra. The gas market in Gujarat has access to five different supply sources ? South Bassein fields, Panna-Mukta and Tapti fields, Lakshmi fields, Dahej and Hazira.

The Maharashtra market has access to gas supplies from only the Bombay High fields, which is fast declining. Once the Dahej-Uran project is ready, the Gujarat and Maharashtra markets will be interconnected and Maharashtra will gain access to multiple gas sources. This is expected to bring the much-needed relief for the power generators in Maharashtra.

For the Vijaipur-Kota pipeline project, the supply of pipes is expected to commence from April 2006 and the pipeline will be completed by December 2006. The pipeline will supply natural gas and re-gassified LNG to Rajasthan.

GAIL rig

GAIL’s drilling rig Ekha has reached the drill site for the first well in Block-26. With this, the drilling programme by GAIL along with its consortium partner Gazprom of Russia has started in Bay of Bengal. Rig availability has been tight with most offshore rigs contracted out for months together. The block is located 120 km offshore Haldia.