GSPC-Adani Group JV to Set up LNG Terminal in Mundra

Ahmedabad: 09-08-11, Daily Eng. News. TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Gandhinagar: The Gujarat government on Monday formally approved the joint venture between Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) and the Adani Group for setting up an LNG terminal at Mundra in Kutch district,next to the Adani port and special economic zone.Well-placed Sachivalaya sources said,the agreement would mean,that the two together would now kick start the Rs 4,000-crore project with a capacity of five million tonne.

GSPC and the Adani Group had signed the MoU in 2007 intending to set up an LNG terminal at Mundra.Thereafter,studies were carried out for the projects feasibility.The project has been cleared,including by a top consultant,for its seismic viability, a senior official said.There were apprehensions that the zone,where the project would come up,is earthquake prone more particularly on a fault line that falls in Mundra.

The project is seen as an important move to make Gujarat independent in meeting its gas requirements.Already,there are plans to dot its coastline with liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in order to double the capacity of imported gas.This is considered necessary,as looking into the future of industrialization,more particularly the plan to set up the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC),Gujarat cannot remain dependent on limited local supply from Indias gas fields such as KG Basin,whose allocation is strictly controlled by central agencies.

Meanwhile,talks have begun between Larsen & Toubro (L&T ) and state-owned GSPC to set a fourth terminal on a 50:50 partnership near Okha.Pipavav also remains a preferred location for a fifth LNG terminal, a senior official said,adding,While price of the imported gas is linked with international oil prices,on the plus side,there are no central controls over its supply.

Over and above this,the two existing LNG terminals have gone ahead with expanding their gas terminals.Petronet LNG Ltd (PLL),which has a capacity of 10 MSCM is expanding it to 15 MSCM,while Shell Hazira,which has set up the LNG terminal at Hazira in south Gujarat,is increasing its present capacity from 3.5 MSCM to 5.Taken together,in the coming years,Gujarat,which has current capacity of imported LNG received through the terminals at Hazira and Dahej is 13.5 MSCM,will rise to 35 MSCM, a senior state bureaucrat said.