liquified natural gas regasification plant to be set up in Kochi

Bangalore, Mar 17: With the commissioning of the Rs 2500 crore Liquified Natural Gas Regasification Plant at Kochi in next three years, the citizens of Bangalore and Mangalore would be provided with Piped Natural Gas (PAG) as a cheaper alternative fuel by 2011, the General Manager, Bharat petroleum and Chemicals (BPCL), Mr M J Mohan informed here last night.

Addressing newsmen Mr Mohan said that the Petronet LNG Limited (PLL) was setting up a 2.5 MMTPA LNG Regasification Plant at Puthuvypeen, Kochi for which land has already been acquired from the Kochi Port trust. The construction activities are expected to start from June this year.

He said that the Gas Task Force (GTF) was formed with officials from BPCL and Kochi Refineries Limited (KRL) for the purpose of marketing Natural Gas in Kerala, adjoining areas of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Apart from the domestic and transport consumers, the major industries in Kovai, Erode, Salem and Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu and Mangalore and Bangalore in Karnataka would be supplied natural gas for their needs.

He said that apart from finding marketing opportunities for the Natural Gas, the GTF would also set up Auto CNG stations, supply of domestic piped Gas and setting up C2/C3 Extraction facility.

He said that a separate joint ventures for the supply of gas to Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka would be set up in each states. He said that in Kochi, the cost would be about Rs 500 crore while the cost for joint venture for Karnataka project would be around Rs 600 to Rs 700 crore. The state governments will contribute to the tune of five per cent in terms of investment into the joint venture, he said.

Mr Mohan also said that the LNG was expected to play an increasingly important role in the global energy markets. The combination of higher crude oil price, lower natural gas price, rising gas import demand and desire of gas producers to monetize their gas reserves has set the state for increased global natural gas trade.

Apart from cost advantages, the LNG also offers reduced cost of power generation, availability of economical feedstock for fertilizers and petrochemicals, economical source of fuel for commercial and industrial applications, cheaper and safe fuel for domestic use and economical fuel for transport.

Mr Mohan said that the global oil reserves are fast depleting due to excessive use and under these circumstances, the natural gas with plenty of reserve worldwide, comes as a cheaper fuel alternative. It is approximately fifty per cent cheaper than petroleum products taking into account of the present market price, he said.

UNI