Kochi LNG terminal commissioning delays
Petronet LNG Ltd’s (PLL) Rs 4,200-crore 5 million tonnes a year LNG terminal currently under construction in the Puthyvype island off Kochi is expected to be ready by October, Daily Shipping Times reported.
However, the commissioning is likely to be delayed due to non-completion of the pipeline laying work to carry the gas to the consumers in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Dr A.K. Balyan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, PLL, told that “the 2.5-million tonnes a year terminal will be ready by August as scheduled earlier. But, for raising the capacity of the terminal to 5 million tonnes a year for which construction works are under way and it should be ready by October”.
Even though PLL would be ready by Oct, commissioning of the terminal is likely to be postponed because of delay in completing the work on the 45-km first phase of the pipeline by GAIL for supplying gas to Bharat Petroleum Company Ltd (BPCL) refinery, FACT and two-three small consumers. “We understand that this pipeline is expected to be ready by December,” he said.
Dr Balyan said the phase-II pipeline via Coimbatore, Tirupur, Salem to Bangalore is also entangled with problems relating to land acquisition and others with contractors.Given this scenario, commissioning of the LNG terminal at its full capacity of 5 mt a year would materialise only by end of next year, Dr Balyan said.
On the Kerala Government-PLL joint venture power project, Dr Balyan said, “we are happy to work with them in the project integrated with the LNG terminal”. When compared with other fuels, LNG is one of the cheapest. We have agreed to set it up as a joint venture with the State having an equal say in the 1,200-MW project.
“Our two main conditions are that first a guaranteed purchase (off take) of 75 per cent of the power generated by the plant and secondly, the State Government should provide 50 acres,” he said.