IndianOil to go ahead with LNG project in TN
New Delhi   22-Aug-2013

The chief of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) indicated that the company is firm on implementing its LNG project in Tamil Nadu even as its efforts to rope in a strategic partner have not fructified so far. He also stated that under recoveries have risen sharply for oil marketing companies due to currency depreciation and are likely to be over Rs 1.38 lakh crore as against earlier estimates of less than a lakh crore for the current fiscal.

“We will ahead with construction of LNG terminal project. Irrespective of whether we select partner now or later, we are going ahead with the project. Currently we are coming out with some bids and will start appointing contractors for tanks and jetty for the project,” R S Butola, chairman of IndianOil said at the AGM of its group company Chennai Petroleum Corporation.

IndianOil and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) have agreed to set up a five LNG receiving terminal at Ennore Port with a capacity of five million tonnes a year at an estimated cost of Rs 4,320 crore. The project would be implemented through a venture firm.

Completion of project will pave the way for supply of natural gas and R-LNG (regassified LNG) to gas-starved Southern states, particularly Tamil Nadu and some parts of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. This is expected to aid further industrial growth in the region.

While the IndianOil has been scouting for a strategic partner for the proposed LNG project, it is now engaged in talks with several global firms to source LNG for the project. IndianOil had indicated that the project would be commissioned by 2015-16.