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Indian Oil Corporation said its infrastructure to provide gas either as a source of energy or as a feedstock in entire Tamil Nadu will be ready by the end of this year or early next year.
The PSU energy major’s Pipelines Division is laying 1,450 km LNG pipeline across Tamil Nadu at an investment of ₹6,000 crore. As of now, more than 85 per cent of the work has been completed amid challenges posed by the pandemic. This work is expected to be completed by the end of this year. So, IOC will be in a position to supply gas through pipelines across the state.
“In 17 districts of Tamil Nadu, operators are already ready to take the gas to retail outlets as CNG (compressed natural gas) or to households as PNG piped natural gas). Operators for the remaining 21 districts will be chosen in the next round of bidding by the Government of India over the next couple of months. So, the entire Tamil Nadu will have operators to provide gas probably by the end of this year or early next year,” said P Jayadevan, Executive Director & State Head of IndianOil for Tamil Nadu while addressing a group of journalists at the Ennore LNG Terminal.
Since its commissioning, the 5 MMTPA (million metric tonnes per annum) Ennore LNG Terminal, set up by IndianOil LNG Pvt Ltd, a joint venture of IndianOil, has been supplying natural gas to several customers. Currently, its major customers — Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd, Madras Fertilizers Ltd, Tamil Nadu Petroproducts Ltd and Manali Petrochemicals Ltd — get gas through a 22-km pipeline from the terminal.
“Being the first LNG terminal on the east coast of India, Ennore LNG terminal has the capacity to handle ships ranging from sizes– 65,000 m3 to 266,000 m3. Also, the capacity of the terminal can be increased to 10 MMTPA depending on the demand,” said K Ramu, Chief Executive Officer, IndianOil LNG Pvt Ltd.
The LNG Terminal has so far received 25 vessels of LNG from different countries. Also, gas is being supplied in the form of LNG to over 15 industrial customers in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Kerala through cryogenic LNG trucks.
The terminal is presently operating at 15 per cent capacity and it is expected to touch 50 per cent by 2023 and probably reach full capacity utilisation by 2025.
Ennore LNG Terminal and the Pipeline Network is expected to contribute to the economic growth of Tamil Nadu as they will usher in an era of cleaner and economical alternatives to coal and liquid fuels apart from reducing the emissions.
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