NMDC inks pact with GAIL arm to secure natural gas supplies for 2 MT pellet plant

NMDC and GAIL Gas officials at the signing of the gas sale agreement. | Photo Credit: Arrangement State-owned NMDC has entered into an agreement with GAIL Gas to secure natural gas supplies for its iron ore pellet plant in Chhattisgarh’s Nagarnar.Transition to natural gas, from furnace oil, would help reduce emissions and improve the process efficiency, product quality and long-term cost competitiveness of the 2 million tonne plant.130-km pipeline to be laidA 130-km natural gas pipeline will be laid from Damanjodi in Odisha to the Nagarnar plant. It will be an extension of the existing pipeline network from Dhamra Port to Damanjodi that supplies gas to the National Aluminium Company (NALCO) plant.Under the long-term gas sale agreement, the GAIL subsidiary will develop the required pipeline connectivity and establish a gas receiving and metering station at Nagarnar towards ensuring a reliable supply of natural gas. The expansion of the natural gas pipeline network into the Jagdalpur region is expected to facilitate the transition to cleaner industrial fuel, NMDC said on Saturday.NMDC Chairman and Managing Director Amitava Mukherjee said the agreement marked a significant step towards cleaner and more sustainable operations. “By transitioning to natural gas at Nagarnar, we aim to substantially reduce emissions while strengthening the efficiency and competitiveness of our pellet operations. It reflects our commitment to integrating environmental responsibility with long-term industrial growth,” he said in a release.The agreement was signed by G S S V Suresh, Executive Director (Works) of NMDC and Mohd Zafar Khan, Head-Marketing of GAIL Gas, in the presence of NMDC Director (Technical) Vinay Kumar, Director (Commercial) Vivek Nishant Nath and senior officials from both organisations. Published - October 17, 2026 10:26 pm IST