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Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), the largest oil marketing company, on Monday, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Ltd (Idco) for development of natural gas infrastructure in the state.
Natural gas distribution to domestic and industrial consumers will begin after commissioning of IOCL’s five million tonne per annum (mtpa) LNG terminal planned at Dhamra. “Our five mtpa LNG terminal at Dhamra is expected to be commissioned by 2018. We would invest Rs 5,000 crore on this terminal. The terminal needs 150 acres of land. In due course of time, we will be expanding capacity to 10 mtpa. The gas distribution infrastructure is expected to be ready before the commissioning of the terminal. Presently, we are making a study of the cities in Odisha with potential for natural gas consumption,” said A K Marchanda, executive director (gas), IOCL.
The MoU was signed by Marchanda and Vishal Dev, chairman cum managing director, Idco. Under the MoU, both Idco and IOCL will jointly assess the requirement and demand of natural gas and subsequently develop necessary infrastructure to make gas reach the demand centres.
The initiative is likely to boost fertiliser, power and petrochemicals units as well as downstream industries.
It may be noted that Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB), the upstream regulator for the petroleum sector, had identified nine locations in the state-Bhubaneswar, Khurda, Rourkela, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Anandpur, Baripada, Balasore and Kamakhyanagar for development of the city gas distribution network (CGD).
The CGD network would involve the distribution of compressed natural gas (CNG) and LNG for domestic and industrial use. The distribution will be done through two proposed pipelines.
