GAIL to invite EoI soon for Paradeep LNG terminal

The country's largest natural gas distributor GAIL (India) Ltd said, it will soon invite expression of interest (EoI) for developing its LNG (liquefied gas terminal) proposed at Paradeep.

"We are going to invite EoI next week to select a technical partner for building our LNG terminal at Paradeep. Work on the terminal is expected to commence in a year's time," GAIL (India) chairman and managing director (CMD), B C Tripathi told Business Standard. In October last year, GAIL had entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Paradeep Port Trust (PPT) for setting up of an offshore LNG terminal at the port at a cost of Rs 3,108 crore.

The project - floating storage re-gasification unit - will have an initial capacity of four million tonne per annum (mtpa) in the first phase, reaching a peak capacity of 4.8 mtpa, with a storage capacity of 170,000 cubic metres. The first phase of the project is expected to go on stream by 2017.

While PPT would invest Rs 650 crore on breakwater and dredging, GAIL would invest the residual Rs 2,458 crore. In the second phase, an additional four mtpa capacity will be added (peak capacity- 4.8 mtpa), raising the terminal's overall capacity to 8-10 mtpa.

The LNG terminal is expected to position both Paradip and Odisha on the global map of LNG business. It will cater to the requirement of eastern, western and central parts of the country. The re-gasification unit will have a dedicated LNG jetty. The natural gas will be transported through GAIL's Jagdishpur-Haldia and Surat-Paradip pipelines. India is currently the fourth largest consumer of gas and the share of natural gas in the country's primary energy market is poised to reach 22 per cent by 2020 and 25 per cent by 2035.

Recently, GAIL had invited EoI to select licensors of coal gasification technology to set up a coal gasification plant at Talcher (Odisha). The plant, to cost Rs 8,000 crore, will be developed by a consortium consisting of GAIL, Coal India Ltd (CIL), Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilisers (RCF) and Fertiliser Corporation of India Ltd (FCIL). The selected licensors would be required to have five per cent equity in the special purpose vehicle (SPV) formed by the consortium partners for developing the plant. The gasification plant would produce ammonia synthesis gas to be used as feedstock for production of ammonia, urea and ammonium nitrate.