Petronet may set up LNG terminal in Goa

| 30 April 1999 10:21 IST

Petronet LNG Ltd, India's public sector company of liquified natural gas, is exploring the possibility of setting up the LNG terminal in Goa to facilitate the hinterland area along the west coast.

The LNG terminal in the western region could meet requirements of Goa as well as Karnataka, especially Hospet-Bellary steel sector and Belgaum and Dharwar industrial belt. Besides the ports of Mormugao in Goa and Mangalore, the Sea Bird naval base in Karwar could also benefit from it.

The team of high officials of Petronet, led by its CMD S C Mathur, held discussions with the Goa state authorities as well as the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, besides top industrial houses like Chowgules, Salgaoncars and the Zuari Industries Ltd.

While planning to supply green fuel to the power generating plants of around 1000 MW, the Petronet also hopes that the port authorities, hotel industry, fertiliser plants, auto accessory industry, sponge iron sector and even sewerage plants could benefit tremendously from the LNG, when fuel like naphtha is becoming a scarce commodity.

The green fuel is a pure methane, which is liquified and stored at minus 160 degrees. Goa appears to be ideal place for it, having draft for the ships to download as well as advanced telecommunication facilities. A pipeline would be then laid down to the respective destinations, having a limit of upto 300 kms to supply the liquified natural gas.

The Petronet has already begun work at Dahej in Gujarat and Cochin in Kerala for having two terminals of five million tonnes and 2.5 MT of LNG per annum respectively. Goa's terminal could be between one to 2.5 MT, informs Mathur, with an investment upto to $ 500 million.

The LNG would be imported from Qatar, for which the Indian government has already signed heads of agreement while the sale agreement is expected to be signed by both the parties by May end.

Alban Couto, advisor to the Goa governor, has taken initiative in inviting the Petronet to Goa so that the state could overcome its major infrastructural hurdle to meet its growing demands while also operating major supply terminal to the neighbouring states.

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