This marks the completion of a major milestone in the construction of the Northeast Gas Grid (NEGG) connecting the Northeast to the National Gas Grid.
The total length of the pipeline in this single HDD crossing is 4,080 meters across the main water channel of the Brahmaputra. This is the longest river crossing by any hydrocarbon pipeline of size 24-inch diameter and above in Asia and 2nd longest in the world.
This one-of-a-kind HDD river crossing was executed by the Intersection method, where two HDD rigs simultaneously started drilling from the two sides of the Brahmaputra with the intersection of the two drilling heads in the middle at 30 meters beneath the river bed of the Brahmaputra.
The laying of the 4,080-meter pipeline section was completed by overcoming numerous hurdles faced mainly due to monsoon rains and floods.
The total length of HDD crossing across the Brahmaputra considering all major and minor water channels is 5,780 meters. This was done in three separate HDD sections of lengths 1,000 meters, 4,080 meters, and 700 meters.
The 1,000-metre and 700-meter sections were completed earlier. The next step will be the tie-in of the three sections at two points, which will be located at 15 meters and 8 meters below Natural Ground Level (NGL).
IGGL CEO Ajit Kumar Thakur said: “With the completion of the Brahmaputra HDD, IGGL has achieved more than 71% physical progress of the NEGG project and will be able to complete the Guwahati- Numaligarh section of the NEGG by February 2024.”
“I am extremely proud of my team, who have worked tirelessly to achieve this milestone overcoming the challenges of monsoon rains and floods in Assam. I am also thankful to the Assam government, who is extremely supportive in implementing this project,” Thakur said
Indradhanush Gas Grid Limited, a joint venture company of five major oil PSUs viz. IOCL, ONGC, GAIL, OIL & NRL is implementing the prestigious North East Gas Grid Project (NEGGP) connecting the major cities and demand centers of the Northeast with the National Gas Grid.
The 1,656 km long natural gas pipeline is constructed at a project cost of Rs 9,265 crore, 60% of which is received as a grant from the Union government.
According to themeghalayan
