GAIL to set up CNG corridor

NEW DELHI, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- State-run Gas Authority of India Ltd. says it plans to create a compressed natural gas corridor in the county.

The corridor would cut carbon emissions and the oil bill, the company said.

"India has a 8,000-kilometer cross-country pipeline network, and city gas-distribution projects supplying CNG to automobiles can be created in cities falling on the pipelines," GAIL Chairman and Managing Director U.D. Choubey said at the India Energy Summit Friday.

He said city gas networks in New Delhi and Mumbai can be repeated in other cities to cut more than $15 billion from the national fuel bill. The use of environmentally friendly CNG in automobiles will also cut carbon emissions contributing to greenhouse gases, Choubey said.

India's transportation sector consumed 75 percent of 135 million tons oil, he said.

"There already are 400 CNG-dispensing stations in the country and many more can be set up. What is required is an integrated effort by all the stakeholders," he said.

Choubey emphasized there is need for legislation mandating the use of CNG in all automobiles as was done in the transport sector in New Delhi.