The Hindu Business Line : Petronet LNG gives nod to set up regasification terminal in Kochi

AFTER due deliberations spread over the past few months, the board of Petronet LNG has finally waved its flag of approval to set up a regasification terminal at Puthuvypeen Island in Kochi.

The approval was given by the Petronet board a couple of days ago, Mr S. Behuria, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), told presspersons here.

He said the toss was between the terminals of Dahej and Kochi and the latter had been given the approval. Mr Behuria said the capacity of the terminal to handle the liquefied petroleum would be 2.5 million tonnes per annum, which is exactly half the capacity of the Dahej facility. The terminal would have the banner of Petronet and noted that the liquefied petroleum would be shipped from Qatar to Kochi where it would be regasified at the Puthuvypeen terminal and send across to the customers.

He said the investment for the project would about 12.5 per cent of the equity to begin with and the project would be completed within three years. This would be supplied to the customers as fuel and feedstock.

It may be recalled that the Kochi Refineries during the fag end of 2003 had obtained the environmental clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests for setting up the single buoy mooring (SBM) at Puthuvypeen Island. The construction of the SBM was also estimated to facilitate the capacity expansion of the refinery to 10 million tonnes per annum and is estimated to be in position by 2010.

The SBM is located about 18 km from the Kochi port and would have a string of tank farms off the Puthuvypeen Island and noted that the surrounding areas for the development of the jetty are also on. Mr Behuria said the boards of the Kochi Refinery and BPCL have formally agreed for their merger. A steering committee has been formed to deal with the nitty-gritty details about the appointment of merchant banks, legal advisors etc.

He said BPCL has already initiated the process of appointing the merchant bankers for the same.

Mr Behuria, who was in the city for the launch of the Hi-Speed diesel, said this was a blend of diesel and multifunctional additive sourced from Afton Chemicals (formerly Ethyl Asia Pacific Company) and uses the greenburn combustion technology. This additive enables the diesel vehicles to deliver their designed outputs by removing harmful deposits from all fuel metering systems and is able to reduce particle content by 14 per cent and black smoke by 22 per cent.

Launched in five cities - Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata and Kochi, the company is estimating to launch the Hi-Speed diesel in 39 cities in the country by the fiscal year end. In Pune, it would be looking at servicing the customers at 11 locations and is primarily targeted at the city passenger diesel car segment and not at the truckers or any highway vehicle, he said.

The Hi-Speed diesel would be priced Rs. 0.59 above the normal diesel, which is available at Rs 30.66.

Asked about the target set, he said the company was looking at sales of about 1,000-1,500 kilolitres per city per month and for Pune the target was 500 kilolitres per month.

He noted that BPCL, which has about 35 outlets in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad area, is adding another six more outlets before March 2005. He added that it was expected to add about 30 per cent more to the overall revenues of the company.

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