The Petronet LNG Terminal at nearby Puthu Vypeen is likely to be commissioned by November-December this year, Dr A.K. Balyan, Managing Director, Petronet LNG Ltd, said.
The company had earlier said that the project would be ready by July and would become operational by October. However, the capacity-doubling from 2.5 million tonnes (mt) a year to 5 mt a year required integration of additional infrastructure, leading to the slight delay in commissioning, he said.
The completion of the Kochi LNG terminal is on track and satisfactory, he said, adding that elaborate safety requirements have to be taken before its commissioning. According to an agreement signed with Australia, 1.5 million tonnes of gas will be received
for the Kochi project. Arrangements have already been made to distribute that gas. New sources are being looked at. New contracts will be entered into only according to the demand, he added.
The company proposes to source LNG under a long-term contract from Gorgan in Australia by 2015 for its plant here. The about 1.5 million tonnes purchased from Gorgan will be sold to GAIL, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd and IndianOil Corporation. There will also be a short-term arrangement besides this, he said.
On pipeline connectivity, he said GAIL, which was laying the pipelines, has to expedite the second phase. By December, the pipelines are expected to be ready. Petronet has signed a memorandum of understanding with Gazprom, a Russian natural-gas supplier. The company is in an advanced stage of discussion with Qatar and is also looking at the US and Angola for sourcing gas, he added.