On February 17, 2021, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi virtually Inaugurated & Laid Foundation Stone for several key projects related to Oil & Gas Sector in Tamil Nadu (TN).
The projects are
- Inauguration of 143 Km Long Ramanathapuram-Thoothukudi section of Natural Gas Pipeline
- Inauguration of Gasoline Desulphurisation unit at Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited, Manali, Chennai.
- Laid Foundation stone of Cauvery Basin Refinery at Nagapattinam
Benefits:
The projects will result in major socio-economic benefits & boost India’s progress towards Atma Nirbhar Urja for Atma Nirbhar Bharat on the energy front.
Projects:
Gasoline Desulphurisation unit at Manali, Chennai
- Gasoline Desulphurisation unit at Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL), Manali, Chennai has been constructed at a cost of INR 500 Crores.
- It will produce low Sulphur (less than 8 PPM) environment friendly gasoline and play a big role in reducing emission & contribute towards creating a cleaner environment.
Foundation Stone for Cauvery Basin Refinery at Nagapattinam
- The Cauvery Basin Refinery will have a capacity of 9 million metric tonnes per annum and the estimated cost of the project is INR 31, 500 Crore.
- To be set up through a Joint Venture of IOCL (Indian Oil Corporation Limited) & CPCL.
- The refinery will produce Motor Spirit and Diesel meeting BS-VI specifications, and Polypropylene as a value-added product.
Ramanathapuram-Thoothukudi section of Natural Gas Pipeline
- Ramanathapuram-Thoothukudi section (143 Km) is part of the Ennore-Thiruvallur-Bengaluru-Puducherry-Nagapattinam-Madurai-Tuticorin Natural Gas Pipeline. The new section has been built at a cost of INR 700 Crore
- It will monetise the gas supplied from ONGC (Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd) gas fields by supplying the natural gas as feedstock at a cheap cost to SPIC (Southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation Ltd) for manufacturing fertilisers.
- The supply of gas to SPIC will result in savings in the range of INR 70-95 Crore in annual cost of production and will eventually bring down the cost of production of fertilizers also.
City Gas Projects
- The pipeline is part of a larger natural gas pipeline project being developed at a cost of INR 4, 500 Crore.
- The gas pipeline projects will enable development of City Gas Projects which are being developed at 10 districts in Tamil Nadu with an investment of INR 5,000 Crore.
Key Points from PM’s Address:
- He emphasized the Importance of reducing the Dependency on Foreign sources for Energy resources & diversifying import sources.
- India the 3rd largest Oil importer globally has imported 85% of oil & 53% of gas to meet its energy demands In 2019-20.
- Around 65.2 Million tonnes of petroleum products have also been exported.
- India is planning to increase the gas share in the Energy sector from 6.3% to 15%.
- The PM also stated that by 2030, 40% of all energy in India will be generated from green energy sources.
- In the past 6 years, oil and gas projects worth over ₹50,000 crore have been approved for implementation in Tamil Nadu. In the same period, projects worth over ₹9,100 crore sanctioned before 2014 were completed.
- India was 4th in the world in refining capacity behind US, China and Russia and it plans to increase its refining capacity to 400 mtpa by 2025.
- To achieve ‘One Nation One Gas Grid’. Centre planned to spend Rs 7.5 lakh crores in creating oil and gas infrastructure over five years.
Recent Related News:
i.On 23rd June 2020, Edappadi K.Palaniswami, CM of Tamil Nadu and Dharmendra Pradhan,Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel, inaugurated Compressed Bio-Gas(CBG) Plants at Namakkal and CBG Fuel Stations at Puduchatram and Rasipuram over a virtual platform.
ii.On October 7, 2020, Guidance, a nodal investment promotion and facilitation agency of TN located in Chennai has partnered with WEF to establish India’s and South Asia’s first advanced manufacturing hub (AMHUB) in Tamil Nadu.
About Tamil Nadu:
Stadium – M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai (Recently in News)
Forts – Gingee Fort, Vellore Fort, Fort St. George in Chennai
