India may get 2 new LNG terminals by 2009

Come 2009, and the country will have doubled its LNG terminals to four from two, at present, if Petronet LNG's Kochi terminal and the Dabhol terminal go according to schedule.

The two terminals are being planned at Ennore by the Indian Oil Corporation and at Mangalore by the ONGC, which will take the total LNG handling capacity to around 40 million tonnes.

However, some analysts and industry players are of the view that with all the gas being discovered in the east coast, not all of these terminals may be viable.

The large amounts of gas discovered, estimated to be almost 55 trillion cubic feet, by companies like the ONGC, Reliance Industries and the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) in the east coast may make importing LNG unviable.