Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) and Assam Gas Company Limited (AGCL) – the two State Government-owned PSUs -- will jointly implement the project.
Announcing this at a press conference today, Assam Power Minister Pradyut Bardoloi said that the project would involve transfer of natural gas (called associated gas) from small pockets of gas found near crude oil extraction sites to a central location through pipeline.
“Such small pockets of gas are mostly concentrated in Golaghat and Jorhat districts besides at a few places in Barak Valley. We plan to run thermal power plants by utilizing the gas which is generally wasted by flaring it up. The proposed plant at Titabor will involve an expenditure of Rs 300 crore and will take about two years for commissioning,” Bardoloi said.
Bardoloi said that the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has agreed to provide the required gas in return for a price. “From the small pockets of gas near Titabor, we will be getting two lakh standard cubic meters of natural gas daily and this should be sufficient to power a 50-MW power plant,” he said.
The project will entail laying a 70-km pipeline. “In order to be commercially viable, we cannot transfer the gas to distant locations,” Bardoloi said.
On the Amguri gas-based project that has failed to take off even after 20 years, the minister said that it would be replaced by a solar power station due to lack of availability of gas.
Source: Assam Tribune
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