Team Blitz India
NEW DELHI: South Asia Gas Enterprise (SAGE), an international consortium of companies in deepwater pipeline projects, has sought the support of the Ministry of Petroleum and others to develop an undersea gas pipeline from Gulf to India.
“We have carried out both technical and financial feasibility of the project, and have received positive response from various stakeholders. We now need the diplomatic and political support to take it forward as this requires long term government level agreement,” SAGE Director Subodh Kumar Jain said.
The proposed 2,000-km-long energy corridor connecting Middle East and India, a $5-billion project, can lead to an annual saving of about Rs7,000 crore in comparison with similar quantity of liquefied natural gas (LNG) import.
The undersea transnational gas pipeline project Middle East-India Deepwater Pipeline (MEIDP) was initially conceived between Iran and India (Porbandar) about a decade ago but failed to take off due to western sanctions.
“There have been new large gas discoveries in Oman, UAE and Saudi Arabia recently and the Middle East plans to spend over $120 billion to increase gas output by 4 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) by 2030. This is the right time to strike long-term deals at government-to- government level,” Jain said.
SAGE, promoted by Delhi-based Siddho Mal Group along with a UK-based deepwater technology company, made a presentation before Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) in March this year for its gas master planning division.
The hydrocarbon projects developer has made similar presentations to other gas suppliers in the Middle East, and also made representations to ministries of petroleum, power, fertiliser, and also various industry chambers.
