HLL Lifecare Ltd , a mini-ratna Central public sector enterprise based here, has become the first public sector unit in Kerala to enter into a memorandum of understanding with Petronet LNG Ltd (PLL) for long-term procurement of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to power its factories.
AGREEMENT SIGNED
The gas will be used at HLL's factories at Peroorkada and Akkulam near here, according to Mr M. Ayyappan, Chairman and Managing Director, HLL Lifecare. An agreement to this effect was signed recently, he added.
Terming this as path-breaking, Mr Ayyappan said the demand for LNG will grow many-fold in India, and it will turn out to be the most cost-effective solution for organisations such as Hind Lifecare. “The tie-up with Petronet is an attempt to highlight our efforts at coming up with innovative ideas to counter the massive energy shortage in this country.
“We expect that this contract with Petronet will go a long way in developing and adopting current technologies in the manufacturing sector.”
HLL, at present, uses 10,000 kg of furnace oil a day for its boiler Plants.
The LNG requirement of the company would be in the range from 1 to 1.2 tonne a day at Rs 2.8 lakh.
This translates to Rs 10 crore on an annual basis. Petronet will commence supplying the gas after commissioning their LNG terminal at Kochi.
According to Mr M. D. Sreekumar, Director (Technical and Operations), HLL, “this transaction illustrates HLL's commitment towards the growing concern for energy conservation.
“The objective of the MoU is to develop a direct and long-term relationship with Petronet,” he added.
The deal achieves significance in the context of many corporates shifting towards natural gas, as it is a reliable, affordable and clean fuel for a wide variety of needs.
COST-EFFICIENT
LNG is predominantly methane, which is converted temporarily to liquid form for ease of storage or transport. LNG is only about 1/600th volume of natural gas in the gaseous state.
The reduction in volume makes it much more cost efficient to transport over long distances.
Where moving natural gas by pipelines is not possible or economical, it can be transported by specially designed LNG carriers or cryogenic road tankers.