GAIL (India) has proposed to lay a nearly 110 km natural gas pipeline from Jalandhar in Punjab to the Wagah border of India and Pakistan. The project would cost about R500 crore.
The proposal is likely to be formally placed before visiting Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who attended the swearing in ceremony of Narendra Modi and his Cabinet in the Capital on Monday.
GAIL chairman BC Tripathi confirmed that the proposal has been put forward.
Meanwhile, Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in the Netherlands Royal Dutch Shell is in talks with the Andhra Pradesh government to buy up to 24% stake in the proposed LNG terminal project on the east coast, said Tripathi.
GAIL in joint venture with Andhra Pradesh Gas Distribution Company (APGDC) is setting up the project. Gaz de France has picked up 26% stake in the project, while APGDC has 50% share.
Q4 RESULT
The government owned company reported a 57% jump in its Q4 net profit at R972 crore against R618 crore in the same quarter the previous year.
The higher net profit is
because of better margins
from petrochemical and LPG prices. The company realised R96,000 per tonne price
for petrochemicals, against R82,000 a tonne in the previous fiscal. And price realisation on LPG also increased by 8% to R56,000 a tonne, Tripathi explained.
During the fourth quarter of FY14, natural gas sales were 76.26 mmscmd, as against 80.13 mmscmd during the corresponding quarter of the last year. The natural gas transmission during the fourth quarter of the current financial year was 94.66 mmscmd, as against 99.49 mmscmd in the corresponding period last year.
The company has cut capital expenditure for FY15 to R3,100 crore from R4,000 crore in FY14 because it is going slow on new pipeline projects in the absence of customers and availability of gas.
GAIL has recommended payment of total dividend of 104%, inclusive of 45% interim dividend already paid.
In the complete fiscal year, GAIL reported 9% increase in profit after tax during the year 2013-14 at R4,375 crore against R4,022 crore in FY14. The turnover increased by 21% to R57,245 crore from R47,333 crore in FY13.
