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The first container carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG), MV Will Energy, has called on the Puthuvypu LNG terminal, near here. The vessel, which came from Qatar, berthed at the greenfield five-million tonne LNG terminal at around 8 am on Tuesday.
Though the ship reached the outer sea on August 11, it could not enter the terminal because of lower draft and silt in the channel. It entered the channel only after hectic dredging operations. The draft in the channel has now been enhanced to 14 metres — the minimum required draft to enter the vessel.
The Marshall Islands flag carrier is carrying about 56,000 tn LNG and has five storage tanks. This would be unloaded in about five days. Petronet LNG indicated plans to import two cargoes or shiploads of LNG this year. In the second year, it is expected to operate at 75 per cent capacity.
The terminal constructed by Petronet LNG is likely to be officially commissioned soon. Earlier it was decided to commission in this month itself, though the construction was over by March itself.
Though the terminal has a capacity of 5 million metric tonne per annum (mmtpa), it will handle 2.5 mmtpa initially. Slow pace in laying the pipe lines and entering marketing tie-ups with consuming industries are the main reasons for the delay in commissioning.
The project involves a 900-km gas pipeline to Mangalore and Bangalore with an investment of Rs 3,400 crore. Of this, 505 km pass through Kerala, 310 km through Tamil Nadu and 85 km through Karnataka.
GAIL is laying the pipeline from Kochi to Kootanad in Palakkad district and thereon to Bangalore and Mangalore. Because of strong resistance from land owners in these districts, only 30 km has been laid so far.
LNG will be made available to NTPC project at Kayamkulam, near Kollam, through pipeline that will be laid along the seabed. Brahmapuram and Cheemeni power projects in Kerala also expect to use LNG as fuel.
