The Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) inaugurated a domestic piped natural gas (PNG) project in Salem, Tamil Nadu on 23 May, 2023. The plant will enable the energy major to supply PNG to 3.35 lakh households, with a budget of Rs 1,300 crore earmarked for the same.

IOCL's PNG plant is set up in the Salem steel plant premises and will supply PNG through pipelines. PNG was supplied to 50 homes on the day of the inauguration and another 450 individual houses will be given access to PNG in the first phase. The project will also be extended to Jageer Ammapalayam, Tiruvagoundanur and other parts of the district soon.

Apart from the pipeline, PNG is also being supplied through 158 fuel stations and also distributed to vehicles through the fuel bunk established on the steel plant’s premises.

The Central government has set a target to raise the share of natural gas in the energy mix to 15 percent in 2030, which includes an expanded network for distributing domestic PNG to meet domestic and commercial requirements and encouraging CNG in vehicles.