Energy Infrastructure Trust is a toll road for natural gas - it owns the single pipeline that connects India’s biggest offshore gas fields to the factories, power plants and city-gas networks of the west, and it collects a regulated fee on every molecule that moves through it. The Trust was created in 2019 when Brookfield bought the pipeline from Reliance Industries and dropped it into a listed InvIT (a trust that owns infrastructure and pays out most of its cash to investors), locking in a 20-year contract that guarantees a minimum payment regardless of how much gas actually flows. Everything the business does follows from one recurring idea: the pipeline is “virtually impossible to replicate” - it is the only east-west gas corridor in the country, so most of the gas from the Krishna-Godavari Basin has no alternative route to market.
Business segments
A single engine - a 1,483-kilometre natural-gas pipeline that is the sole east-west artery in India’s national gas grid, earning regulated tariffs under a long-term contract with an AAA-rated anchor customer.
1. East-West gas pipeline: the country’s only bi-directional gas corridor
The Trust owns the only pipeline that can move gas from India’s largest offshore basin to the western demand centres, and it gets paid a minimum fee for the capacity whether customers use it or not.
- The only east-west route - the 1,373 km trunk line (plus 110 km of spurs) runs from Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh to Bharuch in Gujarat, crossing five states with a uniform 48-inch diameter and an authorised capacity of 85 MMSCMD (million cubic metres per day). It is the sole PNGRB-authorised common carrier connecting eastern and western India, and it carries 89% of all gas produced in the KG Basin and 18% of India’s total gas.
- A 20-year contract with a floor - Reliance Industries has committed to reserve up to 33 MMSCMD of capacity under a Pipeline Usage Agreement signed at acquisition, paying a Contracted Capacity Payment that covers costs and ensures predictable cash flows even if actual volumes fall short. The payment resets every five years linked to interest rates, and any cost overrun on operations or maintenance is passed through to Reliance, so the Trust’s downside is largely protected.
- Regulated tariffs with an 88% uplift - the pipeline’s tariff is set by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board, and since acquisition in 2019 the realised tariff has risen by 88%. Under the Unified Tariff Regime launched in April 2023, customers pay a single zonal rate and the difference is settled among transporters, so PIL remains revenue-neutral regardless of which pipeline the gas physically travels through.
- Ship-or-pay and secured billing - customers sign a Framework Gas Transportation Agreement and must pay for 90% of their booked quantity each month whether they use it or not, with invoices raised fortnightly and payment due within four days, backed by letters of credit covering 30 days of charges. The customer base has tripled since the Trust took over, now standing at roughly 60 shippers across refineries, fertiliser plants, petrochemicals, power and city-gas companies.
Group structure and partners
The Trust is a Brookfield-sponsored InvIT that owns 100% of the pipeline company, with Reliance as both its anchor customer and a counterparty holding a call option to buy the entire equity stake at the end of the 20-year contract.
- Brookfield at the centre - the Sponsor is Rapid Holdings 2 Pte. Limited, a Singapore entity within the Brookfield group, which held 38.9% of units as of March 2026 after reducing its stake from 75% through on-market sales. The Investment Manager (EnCap Investment Manager) and the Project Manager (ECI India Managers) are both 100% Brookfield-controlled, so day-to-day decisions sit with the sponsor group.
- A single asset held through PIL - the Trust owns Pipeline Infrastructure Limited through itself and six nominee shareholders, making PIL the sole special-purpose vehicle that holds the pipeline licence and all operating contracts. The pipeline was originally built by East West Pipeline Limited and transferred to PIL via a court-approved scheme before the Trust acquired it in March 2019.
- Reliance’s dual role - beyond the 20-year Pipeline Usage Agreement, Reliance holds a call option to buy the Trust’s entire equity in PIL after a specified term or on certain events for a nominal consideration of ₹500 million, while the Trust holds a matching put option. The Investment Manager expects Reliance to exercise the call option at the end of the 20-year period, which effectively gives the asset a defined exit path.
- Debt locked in at a fixed rate - PIL’s borrowings consist of listed non-convertible debentures totalling ₹64,520 million across three series maturing between March 2027 and March 2029, all carrying a fixed interest rate of 7.96% per annum payable quarterly. The Trust also holds InvIT NCDs issued by PIL, earning interest income that flows up to unitholders.