Indian Oil Corporation approves ₹24.49 billion investment in Kochi–Tuticorin gas pipeline

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 21, Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) approved an investment of ₹24.487 billion to build and operate the Kochi–Kanyakumari–Tuticorin gas pipeline (KTPL). The project route has a total length of 424.65 kilometers, extending from Kochi in Kerala to Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu, with a designed gas transmission capacity of 6.84 million standard cubic meters per day, of which 1.71 million standard cubic meters per day is reserved as common carrier capacity.

The pipeline starts at the Kochi LNG terminal operated by Petronet LNG and will connect at Tuticorin with Indian Oil's existing Ennore–Thiruvallur–Bengaluru–Puducherry–Nagapattinam–Madurai–Tuticorin gas pipeline network. Indian Oil's existing southern gas pipeline network already delivers regasified LNG from the Ennore LNG terminal to industrial users and city gas networks in Tamil Nadu, and the new KTPL will further form a cross-regional gas transmission corridor from the Kochi LNG terminal on the west coast to southern Tamil Nadu.

Indian Oil obtained authorization from the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) in April this year for the construction, operation, and expansion of KTPL. The authorization plan published by PNGRB specifies that the pipeline will pass through Kerala and southern Tamil Nadu and provide gas transmission conditions for city gas, industrial users, power plants, and other natural gas consumption projects along the route; spur lines may also be built along the route according to user demand.

The project previously entered the regulator's public consultation and competitive authorization process in 2024. PNGRB launched the development rights tender in October 2024, with a planned route of approximately 425 kilometers, and subsequently confirmed Indian Oil as the authorized entity. The project starting point was determined to be the Kochi LNG terminal, with reserved conditions for interconnection with the Kochi–Koottanad–Mangaluru–Bengaluru pipeline network, and the southern end connects to Indian Oil's existing gas system in the Tuticorin direction.

Indian Oil currently operates more than 20,000 kilometers of crude oil, refined products, and natural gas pipelines, with an installed natural gas pipeline transmission capacity of approximately 49 million standard cubic meters per day. The company's existing Ennore–Tuticorin–Bengaluru gas pipeline in South India has been built to approximately 1,094 kilometers, with a current transmission capacity of 34.67 million standard cubic meters per day, supplying gas to users including Chennai Petroleum, Tamil Nadu Petroproducts, Madras Fertilizers, SPIC, Hyundai Motor, and Saint-Gobain.