Express News Service CHENNAI: The ambitious terminal for storage and re-gasification of imported LNG, built by the nation’s largest fuel retailer Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), at a cost of Rs 5,151 crore inside Kamaraj Port at Ennore here, will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi this month end. Sources told Express that the inauguration has been planned for January 27, although IOCL officials are tight-lipped saying there is no official confirmation for the Prime Minister’s Office. The terminal is waiting to be commissioned since November and the inauguration was delayed due to unavailability of dates from the Prime Minister’s Office. Work on laying 22.656 km gas evacuation pipeline and dredging activity got completed for facilitating the free movement of LNG carrier vessels. A senior officer of IOCL’s Southern Region Pipelines told Express that end-to-end i.e pipeline connections from terminal to anchor customers in Manali industrial area had been completed. “We are hoping to commission the LNG terminal by the month end,” he said. Sources said the company has already tied-up off-take agreements for about two million tonne gas with about 30 consumers, which includes anchor customers like Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited, Madras Fertilizers Limited, Manali Petrochemicals and Tamil Nadu Petroproducts Limited in Manali industrial area to cater to gas demand of region. The company is also working on laying a 1,385 km natural gas pipeline from Ennore terminal to Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu via Puducherry. It is also laying branch pipelines to Madurai, Thoothukudi, and Bengaluru to meet the demand from multiple LNG consumers in the region. Meanwhile, the commissioning of LNG terminal will also fast track the city gas distribution (CGD) for which Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board has awarded bids. IOCL on its own won rights to seven cities, including Coimbatore and Salem in Tamil Nadu, while Torrent Gas Private Limited has won the bid for Chennai. IOC officials say natural gas can effectively replace naphtha. Fertiliser industries can directly use natural gas as feedstock for production of urea. In other industries, it will be used to generate power or run furnace. Natural gas is more eco-friendly.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi is expected to officially open Indian Oil Corporation's (IOCL) INR51.51bn ($724m) liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at Kamarajar Port for storage and re-gasification of imported LNG at the end of January. IOCL has already secured off-take agreements for around two million metric tonnes (mt) of gas with approximately 30 customers, including Chennai Petroleum, Madras Fertilizers, Manali Petrochemicals and Tamil Nadu Petroproducts, according to unnamed sources. Meanwhile, IOCL has won the gas distribution rights for seven cities, including Salem and Coimbatore.