Unocal plans major gas grid in South Asia

Proposed Trans-Asian Gas Pipeline Network [82,472 bytes] Unocal Corp. has unveiled plans to connect existing and planned gas production in southern Asia to industrial markets in the region. The company's goal is to create an integrated gas network in southern Asia. Called Project Energy Renaissance, Unocal's project would link natural gas supplies in southern Asia-as far east as Myanmar-to markets in India's West Bengal state.

Dec. 15, 1997

3 min read

Proposed Trans-Asian Gas Pipeline Network [82,472 bytes]

Unocal Corp. has unveiled plans to connect existing and planned gas production in southern Asia to industrial markets in the region.

The company's goal is to create an integrated gas network in southern Asia.

Called Project Energy Renaissance, Unocal's project would link natural gas supplies in southern Asia-as far east as Myanmar-to markets in India's West Bengal state.

"This integrated project would eventually be part of a trans-Asia natural gas network of existing and proposed stand-alone pipelines, which would connect resources to markets throughout Asia," said Unocal.

The project will provide an outlet for gas from Myanmar, where Unocal has substantial reserves and exploration projects.

What's included

"The Project Energy Renaissance proposal calls for pipelines transporting up to 1 bcfd of competitively priced, clean-burning natural gas to industrial centers in West Bengal and beyond," said Unocal.

Included in the overall scheme are combined-cycle power plants with combined capacity of as much as 1,500 MW and a 2,350 metric ton/day fertilizer plant at Haldia, India.

Unocal will develop the project jointly with Paharpur Cooling Towers Ltd. and other investors. Total capital expenditures could exceed $2 billion.

"In addition to the benefits to the region, these projects would be crucial links in an evolving trans-Asia pipeline network, in which Unocal expects to be a major participant," said Unocal's Boyd Montgomery, vice-president of new ventures for Bangladesh, China, and India.

The trans-Asian gas network that Unocal envisions will include existing and proposed pipelines in Thailand and Myanmar and proposed lines in central and southern Asia (see map).

Unocal S. Asia projects

Unocal owns an interest in the pipeline from Yadana field off Myanmar to Thailand (OGJ, Dec. 8, 1997, Newsletter, and Watching the World, p. 25).

The company also is pursuing plans, with partners, to build a pipeline linking gas fields in the Gulf of Thailand to industrial customers in northeastern Thailand.

In addition to these projects, Unocal is the leader of the CentGas group, which is planning to build a gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to Pakistan and India via Afghanistan (OGJ, Nov. 3, 1997, p. 31).

"Local companies are now actively involved in each part of this pipeline network," said Arun Metre, president and managing director of Unocal Bharat Ltd. "To make these projects a reality, neighboring governments will need to reach an agreement on cross-border trade and will have to facilitate economic cooperation simultaneously with the industry initiatives. Regional cooperation and economic policies will determine the availability of capital and time schedule of these projects," Metre added.

In Bangladesh, Unocal is working to prove reserves that will be dedicated to domestic projects. After the country develops adequate energy resources to meet domestic demand, it hopes to move into regional energy trade.

Project Energy Renaissance would enable Bangladesh to "become an energy trading hub within the next decade to help fuel its economic growth," said Richard Roerig, president and managing director of Unocal Bangladesh Ltd. Roerig says that becoming such a trading center will maximize the value of (Bangladesh's) gas, improve its balance of payments, and help fuel GDP growth.