India’s state-run refiners are set to fully commission the world’s longest liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) pipeline by June 2025, a $1.3 billion project aimed at reducing fuel transportation costs and preventing road accidents. The 2,800-km pipeline, laid by Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, and Hindustan Petroleum under their joint venture IHB, will stretch from Kandla on the west coast to Gorakhpur in northern India. The first phase will go live in March, with full operations expected by mid-year. 

The network will transport 8.3 million tons of LPG annually, meeting about 25% of India’s total demand and cutting reliance on trucks, which currently handle 70% of supply to bottling plants. This shift aims to curb incidents like the recent tanker accident in Coimbatore and the deadly December crash in Jaipur that killed 20 people and injured 45. 

India’s demand for LPG, primarily used for home cooking, surged 80% over the past decade to 29.6 million tons in the fiscal year ending March 2024. This growth has been driven by government subsidies encouraging low-income households to switch from polluting biomass. 

Despite pandemic-related delays and supply chain disruptions due to the Russia-Ukraine war, the project marks a major step toward expanding India’s 5,000-km LPG pipeline network and enhancing fuel safety and efficiency. 

(NDTV Profit)