India’s gas import from Myanmar hits overpricing

India's plan to import gas from Myanmar has hit certain roadblocks with Yangon looking for competitive prices from other Asian countries, officials said.
"India has been facing competition from China, South Korea and Thailand for importing gas from Myanmar's Sitwe area with Yangon looking for better prices for its gas," Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) CMD U.D. Choubey said. India is pushing a $ 3-bn pipeline plan to import gas from Myanmar.
"GAIL, which is the preferred buyer of gas from Myanmar, has proposed eight alternative routes including one via the northeast without touching Bangladesh," Choubey told.

The state-owned GAIL had already submitted a feasibility report to the union petroleum ministry for the 1,400-km-long pipeline from Myanmar to the national grid station at Gaya in Bihar via the northeast and West Bengal. Meanwhile, GAIL would soon start exploration works for gas in west Tripura's Teliamura areas.
"An estimated five mm cm of gas can be produced daily from the proposed 1,680 sq km exploration areas," the GAIL CMD said.

This is for the first time in northeast India, GAIL would undertake exploration works, for which at least two big rigs would be deployed.
"GAIL has identified 30 major cities in India, including Lucknow, Patna, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai to implement its city gas projects by 2009," Choubey added. GAIL, currently supplying piped natural gas to more than 6,410 domestic consumers and about 100 commercial and industrial units in Agartala, has commissioned eastern India's first CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) project for vehicles.