LPG cavern storage project to be ready by June '07

The country's first liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) underground storage cavern project, being set up at Visakhapatnam at an investment of Rs 300 crore, would be ready by June 2007, Rajan K Pillai, general manager, Cavern Project, said.

State-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and France-based Total Fina had jointly formed a company called South Asia LPG Company Private Limited to set up the LPG storage facility.

The project, which was scheduled to be completed by June 2006, has been delayed by about a year due to technical snags and the country's lack of experience in setting up such projects, Pillai told Business Standard.

The company is providing a 60,000-tonne LPG storage facility at below 200 metres from the ground level. This facility would increase HPCL's LPG handling facility through the Vizag port by about 1.2 million tonnes a year.

"So far, more than 60 per cent of the work has been completed. Imported materials like high pressure pumps, valves and pipes will reach Vizag soon and erection works would be completed by June 2007. As part of this project, we are excavating about 4.5 lakh tonnes of rock. At present, on an average, we are removing about 1,800 tonnes of rock and muck from 180 metres below the ground level, every day," he added.

L&T is the contractor for the entire cavern project and Geo Tech is providing the technical support.

Keeping this project in mind, the Vizag port and HPCL are jointly planning to develop the Vizag port as an LPG transshipment hub in the near future.

Apart from unloading LPG from ships, the South Asia LPG Company is providing LPG loading facility to ships with high pressure from underground reserves.

Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) has already laid an LPG pipeline from Visakhapatnam to Hyderabad to transport the LPG reserves from this facility.