Nagaland gets its first CNG station on Dimapur Bypass Road

Nagaland now has its first compressed natural gas (CNG) filling station. The station on Dimapur Bypass Road, built by HPOIL Gas Private Limited, was inaugurated on October 30 by Power and Parliamentary Affairs Minister KG Kenye during the North East Energy Summit's Nagaland chapter at Chümoukedima, The Morung Express reported on Monday, November 2.

HPOIL Gas is a joint venture of two public sector oil companies, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and Oil India Limited (OIL). It received authorisation from the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) on April 19, 2024, under the 12th city gas distribution (CGD) bidding round to build a gas network covering the whole of Nagaland.

Cheaper running costs, says company

S Theiva, the company's project head for Nagaland, told the newspaper that CNG is cleaner and cheaper than petrol or diesel and could cut running costs by about 40 per cent.

He said the station would especially help taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers who cover long distances every day. Converting an auto-rickshaw to CNG could cost about Rs 20,000, money he said could be recovered in six to seven months through fuel savings. Converting a car could cost Rs 70,000 to Rs 80,000.

He advised people buying new vehicles to consider factory-fitted CNG models.

Slow start

Sales have been slow so far. Theiva said the station has started filling the few CNG vehicles available, but demand is yet to pick up because very few vehicles in Nagaland run on CNG.

Gas by pipeline from Assam

On supply, he said HPOIL Gas and Indradhanush Gas Grid Limited (IGGL) signed a gas transmission agreement on the sidelines of the energy summit. Natural gas will come by pipeline from Assam, with Dimapur as the first point of supply. The network is planned to extend to Kohima and later to other districts.

The company also plans to set up a city gate station in the state, the facility where gas from a transmission pipeline is received and sent into the local distribution network.

Part of a Northeast gas push

IGGL, a joint venture of five oil and gas companies, is building the Northeast Gas Grid, a pipeline network meant to link all eight Northeastern states to the national gas grid. City gas networks are expected to bring piped natural gas (PNG) to kitchens and CNG to vehicles in towns that have so far depended on LPG cylinders, petrol and diesel.

For Nagaland, where fuel comes largely by road, a pipeline supply could also mean steadier availability. How quickly CNG catches on will depend on how many vehicle owners convert and how fast more stations open beyond Dimapur.