NRL Completes Landmark Brahmaputra River Pipeline Crossing

Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) has successfully completed a 4,058-metre horizontal directional drilling crossing beneath the Brahmaputra river in Jorhat district, marking one of the longest such crossings in the world. The achievement is part of the 1,635-km Paradip–Numaligarh crude oil pipeline project, designed to supply crude oil to NRL after its capacity expansion from 3 MMTPA to 9 MMTPA.

The pipeline, under construction since December 2022, passes through five states and multiple rivers and water bodies. After an initial contractor failed, the critical Brahmaputra crossing was reassigned and completed within a year using advanced technology. So far, 1,460 km of the pipeline has been laid, with 38 river crossings, 90 water bodies, and eight of ten tunnels completed.