The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC) has undertaken a pre-feasibility study to set up a green hydrogen plant in Mangaluru for meeting the captive requirement of Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL), according to Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Suresh Gopi.
Replying to an unstarred question by Capt. Brijesh Chowta, MP, Dakshina Kannada in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, Mr. Gopi said no investment decision on the green hydrogen plant has been taken so far. The ONGC is continuously enhancing its operations to align with its commitment to achieve net zero status by 2038 by incorporating a series of measures which inter-alia includes green hydrogen projects.
As per the National Green Hydrogen Mission document, the production of green hydrogen typically results in a reduction of approximately 10 kg of carbon dioxide emissions per a kg of hydrogen produced, as compared to production of grey hydrogen, the Minister said.
He said that the plastic park in Mangaluru approved by the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals in January 2022, is in its implementation stage. Its total project cost is ₹62.78 crore, including a Central grant of ₹31.38 crore.
No NHAI office in Udupi
Meanwhile, replying to an unstarred question by Kota Srinivas Poojary, MP, Udupi-Chikkamagaluru in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said that there is no plan to establish a dedicated office of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) at Udupi.
He said that presently NHAI, has two offices/offices/project implementation units (PIUs), one in Mangaluru and another at Honnavar. The total length of NH-66 at Udupi district is 106.52 km, out of which about 65 km is under PIU-Mangaluru and 41 km is under PIU-Honnavar.
Further, there is no plan to establish a dedicated office at Udupi, considering the stretch under construction/operation and maintenance stage, he said.
