Indian Oil submits EoI for pipeline to Jewar airport

Oil and gas major Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has submitted an Expression of Interest (EoI) to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) for laying, building and operating a 36 km long common carrier Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) pipeline from Palwal in Haryana to the upcoming Jewar International Airport.

The proposed pipeline has a total capacity of 2.5 MTPA. The project will take off once IOC receives authorisation from PNGRB.

As traffic picks up, IOC ATF will cater to Jewar Airport's fuel demand.

The Jewar International Airport, which is being constructed in Gautam Buddha Nagar, is expected to divert the traffic from New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI). It is expected that in the next 30 years, passenger traffic of the upcoming Jewar Airport will be the same as present-day IGI Airport. In its EoI, IOC stated that in the long-term, the expected ATF demand for Jewar Airport would be too significant to be transported by the existing road mode.

IOC said a fuel farm has been proposed in the western part of the upcoming Jewar airport site. The required fuel infrastructure for the initial phases is being planned to be built before the airport's opening, and the facility could then be expanded in phases to meet future demand. Presently, there is no product pipeline of any oil marketing companies (OMCs) or entities passing in the vicinity of the proposed Jewar airport location. In the absence of a product pipeline, ATF would have to be transported through the road, which does not seem to be a safer option in the already highly congested Delhi-NCR traffic, said Indian Oil.

Currently, IOC operates two refineries in the proximity of the National Capital Region (NCR) — Mathura and Panipat refinery—interconnected through Mathura–Delhi (Bijwasan) product pipeline and Panipat – Bijwasan pipeline. The Mathura–Delhi pipeline en route to Bijwasan terminal passes through Palwal, about 80 km from IOC's Mathura refinery, where the OMC is proposing to set up the pumping station for ATF.

Image Source- IOCL