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The petroleum ministry is gradually shifting its preference from Iran to Myanmar for importing natural gas through pipelines.
Gail (India) Ltd and ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) have jointly acquired a 30 per cent participating interest in an exploration block in Myanmar.
Though the ministry is insisting that its interest in importing natural gas through offshore pipelines from Iran has not waned, officials say they consider it to be an uneconomical exercise.
Since the ministry has agreed to import liquefied natural gas from Iran, Teheran will not take it amiss if India lays pipelines to another country for natural gas imports.
The ministry has been considering the feasibility of importing gas from Myanmar to the eastern or south-eastern parts of the country, ever since ONGC Videsh and Gail signed agreements with Daewoo International of Korea for participating in its exploration block in that country.
Daewoo International was awarded Block A-1 in offshore Myanmar in October 2000. In early 2001, Gail decided to participate in this block. It acquired a 10 per cent stake and ONGC Videsh a 20 per cent stake in the block on January 28, 2002.
Daewoo International, with 60 per cent equity, is the operator of the project and Korean Gas, with 10 per cent interest, is the fourth partner in the project.
The block extends over 3,885 square km off the Rakhine coast in the Arakan offshore in northwestern Myanmar near Bangladesh. Considering the proximity of this block, India will be the natural market for its gas.
The petroleum ministry is of the view that Block A-1 can be connected to West Bengal by a 600 km offshore pipeline through the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Bangladesh.
The other option will be to take an inland route through Myanmar to Mizoram, Tripura and through Bangladesh to bring gas at the Indo-Bangladesh border to the east of Kolkata.
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