IOC mulls switch to pipeline replacing tanker gas supply to bottling plants

Indian Oil Corpoation (IOC), the country's largest state-owned oil company is planning to switch to transport of cooking gas by pipeline in Kerala, which may reduce the number of gas tanker trucks plying on the roads in the state's roads.

IOC officials told reporters on Wednesday that the pipelines would soon link its LPG bottling plants at Parippally, near Kollam, and Chelari, near Kozhikode. One requirement to fulfil is the right of way, for which the company has approached the State government. The track is to be linked to the Chelari plant, extended from the Kochi-Salem line via Palakkad.

IOC has also held initial talks with the National Highways Authority of India to explore the use of service roads to expand the pipeline network to link the LPG bottling plant near Kollam. Once completed, these pipelines will help take a large number of LPG carriers off the arterial roads in the State, the officials said.

The IOC receives 125 tankers of bulk LPG a day from Mangaluru to Kerala. Of this, 50 trucks go to the Udayamperoor bottling plant, 40 to the Chelari unit, and 35 to the Paripally plant. The vehicles from Mangaluru travel long distances through curved roads in Kerala posing risks of accidents. The IOC officials said that switching to pipeline method will contribute to reducing road congestions and making LPG supply much more safe.

The IOCL and the BPCL had formed a joint venture Kochi Salem LPG Pipeline Pvt Ltd to lay, build, and operate LPG pipeline from Kochi to Salem.