GAIL not to shut down Assam plant but convert to supply feedstock

Guwahati: Gail India Limited has clarified there was no plan to shut down its LPG recovery plant at Lakwa in Assam but would convert it to supply feedstock for the petrochemical unit of Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited (BCPL) being set up at Lepetkata in Dibrugarh district.GAIL's Lakwa plant will continue to operate with change in product while requirement for majority of contract workers will continue and contractors will be persuaded to engage existing workers, a GAIL press release said today.[caption id="attachment_1314487" align="alignleft" width="380"] No LPG shortage. Reuters[/caption]BCPL is in the process of commissioning the petrochemical plant and to make it operational and viable. Supply of natural gas from OIL, ONGC and naptha from NRL has been arranged for feed stock.Gas available in and around Lakwa region was also being considered as feedstock to make the project viable, it said. Since gas available at Lakwa was to be processed for producing C2+ feed, economics was worked out for transporting natural gas vis-a-vis C2+ feed through pipeline from Lakwa to BCPL at Lepetkata and was found that transportation of C2+ feed was more economical and would be in the larger interest of the project, the release added. C2+ is the hydrocarbon needed for production of polyethylene. Regarding apprehension that there would be shortfall in the supply of LPG to Assam and the North East, GAIL had informed Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) about the conversion of GAIL's LPG plant into C2+ recovery unit by BCPL. The Centre, as a part of the Assam Accord signed in 1985, had entrusted GAIL the responsibility of setting up the petrochemical plant at Lepetkata at a cost of Rs 8920 crore. The project, being executed by BCPL, is a joint venture between GAIL, the major stakeholder, Oil India Limited (OIL) Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) and Assam government, the release said. PTI