Petronet LNG Ltd, India’s biggest importer of liquid gas, has invited bids to build facilities at its proposed 5 million tonnes LNG terminal at Gangavaram in Andhra Pradesh.
Petronet today floated a tender to qualify bidders for constructing gas storage facilities, re-gasification plant and marine facilities at Gangavaram.
The company had earlier this year received final approval from its board of directors to build a third LNG terminal at Gangavaram, the first terminal to be located on the east coast.
Bids are due by June 28, it said in the advertisement.
“Petronet LNG Ltd intends to undertake international competitive bidding (ICB) process for qualification of bidders for lumpsum EPC contracts to set up liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal of capacity 10 million tonnes per annum with initial installed capacity of 5 million tonnes per annum at Gangavaram, Andhra Pradesh,” it said.
The company signed a term sheet with the Gangavaram Port for the LNG terminal last year, when it also called for bids for leasing an FSRU (Floating Storage & Re-gasification Unit) for 3-5 years to cover the period till the terminal is completed in 2016.
Petronet operates a 10 million tonnes per annum terminal at Dahej in Gujarat, which it plans to expand to 15 million by 2016. It will complete building a 5 million terminal at Kochi in Kerala this year.
The company’s Managing Director & CEO, A K Balyan earlier this month stated that the Kochi terminal has mechanically completed and the terminal will be commissioned in July.
The Kochi terminal, however, will operate at just 12 per cent of its capacity in the current fiscal as pipelines taking gas to customers are not ready, he said, adding that the company plans to import 4-5 shiploads of LNG at the terminal in 2013-14.
Next fiscal, the terminal is expected to operate at 75 per cent capacity when pipeline connecting Kochi to Mangalore and Bangalore are built he said, adding GAIL is planning to connect this pipeline to Chennai.
Kochi terminal is currently being connected to two main customers — Bharat Petroleum’s Kochi refinery and fertiliser firm FACT, which are in the process of converting their facilities to run on natural gas.