The Hindu Business Line : Work on Kochi LNG terminal likely after Dec

IF the current developments are any indication, work on the implementation and development of the proposed LNG terminal here, to be set up by Petronet LNG Ltd (PLL), is to begin after the commissioning of its Dahej terminal in Gujarat in December.

All the required clearances including that from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) had been received and negotiations were currently on for a market tie-up with prospective buyers, a senior PLL source told Business Line.

PLL was negotiating with NTPC and the other potential customers such as Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd (FACT) and BSES, and a deal was expected to be finalised in two months, he said. The company had already bid for supply of two million tonne of LNG or natural gas to NTPC's Kayamkulam plant. Given this situation, it seemed quite unlikely that the NTPC might prefer to go ahead with its own proposed LNG terminal, he pointed out.

Meanwhile, the State Government had lent the services of its Revenue Department officials for completing the formalities related to land acquisition such as issue of notification etc, Mr Venu Nalloor, Executive Director, Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation, said.

The PLL source said the company, a consortium of IOC, BPCL, ONGC and GAIL (India), had 400 acres of land and all the required preliminary studies had been completed. The company had already spent Rs 30 crore on the project here from 1998 to 2002, he said.

IOC, BPCL and GAIL (India) would be marketing the product. He said if the State Government took the initiative for ensuring an assured market it would facilitate speedy implementation of the project. PLL had already announced the LNG price of around $ 3.6 per mBtu, to be supplied from January next, he said.

According to him, GAIL (India), IOC and BPCL have already signed several MoUs with companies such as Nagarjuna Fertilizers Ltd, Samuel Colour Samcer, Maruti Udhyog Ltd and Lanco Group Power Project for supply of LNG from Dahej.

He said even after commissioning of the Dahej terminal there would be a substantial deficit. The strategy adopted by GAIL (India) was to allow the customers the advantage of average cost, he said.

According to the SPA signed with RasGas of Qatar the supplier of LNG to PLL, supplies to the Kochi terminal would be obligatory only after development and implementation of the terminal, he added.

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