Rs 400 crore LPG terminal by IOC-Petronas JV

New Delhi, Oct 4 (UNI) Indian Oil Corp (IOC) along with its joint venture partner Petronas of Malaysia, will set up a Rs 400 crore LPG import terminal with a capacity of 6,00,000 tonnes per annum at Ennore in Tamil Nadu.

Called the Indian Oil Petronas the joint venture, currently operates a similar terminal at Haldia in West Bengal. It would build two cryogenic storage tanks of 10,000 and 15,000 tonnes to store LPG at minus 42 degrees centigrade, IOC sources.

The construction will begin early next year and would commission the facility in the first half of 2009. The Joint Venture has appointed Triune as the project management consultant. Both Ennore and Vizag can berth larger vessels as compared to Mangalore, which can only berth LPG carriers with a maximum 20,000-tonne capacity.

Petronas has committed to supply 3,00,000 tonnes of LPG to Ennore.

This will reduce dependence on over-stretched Mangalore import terminal.

While LPG at Ennore would be stored in over-land tanks.Both Ennore and Vizag can berth larger vessels as compared to Mangalore, which can only berth LPG carriers with a maximum 20,000-tonne capacity.

Also state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) along with Total of France and would set up a LPG import terminal and an underground storage facility at Visakhapatnam. HPCL is using natural rock caves 160-meter underground to store imported LPG at Visakhapatnam.

UNI/RT KR HT1650