Oil sector regulator has authorised the development of nearly 1,800 km of new LPG pipelines at an estimated investment of Rs 7,000 crore, expanding the country's common-carrier LPG pipeline network by almost a quarter as it seeks to make fuel supplies more resilient and reduce dependence on road transport.
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has approved three strategically important LPG pipeline projects across Telangana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Karnataka and Goa, the regulator said in a statement.
The projects, to be developed by state-run GAIL (India) Ltd, will take the PNGRB-authorised common-carrier LPG pipeline network from about 7,700 km to nearly 9,500 km, an increase of around 23.5 per cent.
The expansion comes as India relies heavily on imported LPG, with bulk supplies arriving at coastal import terminals and then being transported to consumption centres across the country. A larger pipeline network is expected to improve the efficiency and reliability of moving LPG inland.
The three newly authorised projects are 556-km Cherlapally (Telangana) to Nagpur (Maharashtra) line, 611-km Jhansi (Uttar Pradesh) to Sitarganj (Uttarakhand) pipeline and 633-km Shikrapur (Maharashtra) to Goa and Hubli (Karnataka) line.
The projects build on the earlier authorisation of the 2,757-km Kandla-Gorakhpur LPG pipeline, the longest LPG pipeline in the country.
PNGRB said the new infrastructure would help accelerate a shift away from road-based transportation of LPG to pipelines, reducing the movement of LPG tankers and improving road safety while cutting logistics costs, traffic congestion and carbon emissions.
Pipeline transportation is considered a safer and more economical mode of moving LPG over long distances, while the shift from road to pipeline also reduces the risks associated with the movement of hazardous fuel by tank trucks.
The regulator has been pushing to eliminate the primary movement of LPG by road to bottling plants, particularly after a series of serious road accidents involving LPG tankers.
Beyond logistics and safety gains, the pipeline projects are strategically important for India because of its reliance on imported LPG.
LPG imports arrive primarily at coastal locations, requiring large volumes to be transported inland. A nationwide pipeline grid can provide an alternative to road-based supply chains and help maintain flows during disruptions, emergencies or periods of unusually high demand.
The pipelines can also act as a form of "line-pack storage", allowing LPG to remain within the pipeline system while product continues to move through the network. This provides an additional buffer and can improve the flexibility of the supply system during short-term disruptions.
The latest authorisations therefore form part of a broader effort to build a more integrated LPG transportation network, linking coastal import points and major consumption centres while reducing pressure on road logistics.
With the three projects, the common-carrier LPG pipeline network will expand by nearly 1,800 km, or about 24 per cent, giving India a significantly larger dedicated infrastructure base for moving imported and domestically sourced LPG across the country.
