The Hindu Business Line : NTPC studying report on LNG terminal location

CONSULTANTS appointed by NTPC to conduct a feasibility study of proposed locations for setting up a LNG terminal in Kerala have submitted its report. The report of the Mumbai-based Stup consultants said to have found both the locations viable and NTPC is studying it, an official source told Business Line.

The Corporation would be expanding the capacity of its power plant at Kayamkulam to 2,300 mw from 350 mw by shifting to LNG from naphtha.

The feasibility study was conducted on NTPC's two options. First, to set up a new port and terminal facility at Kayamkulam close to its thermal power plant, and second is to utilise the Kochi port for constructing the terminal and carry the gas through pipeline to the power plant.

However, setting up of a terminal by the corporation might now depend upon a decision on the bids for gas supply to the Kayamkulam plant that involves also re-gassification, for which 10 companies are in the fray, the sources pointed out. Now the technical bids are under evaluation, after which they would be short-listed and then final bids called, they said.

Meanwhile, Petronet LNG Ltd (PLL), (a consortium of IOC, BPCL, ONGC and GAIL India), which is in the process of setting up a terminal at Kochi, has come out with its price for LNG at $3.6 per million British thermal units (mBtu). It was the non-declaration of the price by PLL that has so far been pointed out as the impeding factor for the prospective industrial consumers here to make a buying commitment.

This has, in fact, stalled the progress of this project, which was conceived about three years back even after spending around Rs 7 crore, industry sources said.

Now, PLL is one among the 10 bidders for supply of 2 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas to the Kayamkulam project. Besides, one of the major industrial customers, Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd (FACT), which has been eagerly looking for a LNG supplier and already entered into a tie-up NTPC, is almost set to become a committed buyer.

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