'Remove Essar Raniganj pipeline!' IOAGPL
Bhashit Dholakia, chief operating officer at IndianOil Adani Gas (IOAGPL), wants the PNGRB to take strict action against Essar for laying a dedicated gas pipeline without authorisation.
In a nine-page letter to PNGRB secretary Vandana Sharma on February 14 (2024), Dholakia questions the PNGRB's move to declare the Essar network in West Bengal's Burdwan district as a 'common carrier' pipeline. Essar uses the pipeline to supply gas from its Raniganj CBM block in the Burdwan (Purba Bardhaman) district direct to customers.
"Essar's unauthorised activities continue even today," alleges Dholakia. "And hence there is no ground for any regularisation (legalisation of the pipeline network); Essar's supplies to customers through pipelines and cascades (cylinders) violates the infrastructure and marketing exclusivity of IOAGPL for Burdwan."
On September 28 (2018), IOAGPL received authorisation for Burdwan in CGD-IX. On January 8 (2024), the PNGRB published a public notice on its website declaring the Burdwan network as a 'common carrier', saying: "Essar is serving multiple customers by way of expanding the pipeline network beyond the terms and conditions of the acceptance letter, a violation of the PNGRB Act, 2006.
" On April 24 (2023), the PNGRB declared the Essar pipeline network "unauthorised" and imposed a Rs25 lakhs ($30,160) penalty. But Dholakia is unsatisfied and wants Essar's pipeline network dismantled and the No-Objection Certificate (NOC) withdrawn.
Next, he demands that IOAGPL take over all Essar customers receiving gas through the network. Dholakia wants an independent third-party verification of the Essar pipeline network size, which he argues violates Section 44 of the PNGRB Act.
"Regularising Essar's illegal pipeline after the appointed day (the day the PNGRB was set up - October 1, 2007) violates the PNGRB Act and IOAGPL's authorisation," argues Dholakia. "IOAGPL is the most affected party and should be allowed to be heard."
On its website, Essar says it has drilled 348 wells and has 328 producing wells at the 500-sq km Raniganj block awarded in July 2002. Essar has a 300-km pipeline network and a 2.2m cm/d compression facility and also supplies gas through cylinders mounted on the backs of trucks.