Indian Oil sees Dhamra LNG terminal drawing major investments into East India
New Delhi   10-Jul-2017


Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday performed a ceremony at Dhamra LNG terminal in Odisha, marking the project's commencement. Photo: Pradeep Gaur/Mint

A liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal being set up at Dhamra in Odisha and a long distance gas highway will help attract about Rs 51,000 crore investments into Eastern India, Indian Oil Corp. which is implementing the LNG terminal project with the Adani Group said in a late-night statement on Saturday.

Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan performed a ceremony at the location marking the project's commencement.

Gas imported through this terminal will feed city gas distribution in seven cities in the region, four fertilizer plants that are being revived and a host of other industries through the 2,540-km-long Jagdishpur-Haldia-Bokaro-Dhamra pipeline.

These projects together will bring investments of Rs 51,000 crore to eastern India's economy, the IOC statement said. The project cost of the terminal alone is Rs 6,000 crore.

The Jagdishpur-Dhamra pipeline has a project cost of Rs 12,940 crore, while city gas distribution projects will cost Rs 6,000 crore and the revival of state-owned fertilizer plants at Gorakhpur, Barauni, Sindri and Talcher will bring investment of Rs 26,000 crore, said the statement. The LNG terminal is expected to be completed by 2020-21.

The statement said quoting Pradhan that the terminal will play a significant role in the development of eastern India. “In eastern India, Dhamra will have the distinction of hosting the first LNG terminal, which will import gas from countries like US and Qatar,” it said quoting Pradhan.

“We are hopeful that the use of natural gas will also help in reducing the carbon footprints in the states of Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal in a big way,” the statement further said, quoting IOC chairman Sanjiv Singh.

Developing the eastern part of the country is a priority for the National Democratic Alliance government, which is encouraging several hydrocarbon and infrastructure projects in the region.
At present, states like Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal face scarcity of natural gas in the absence of import terminals and cross-country gas pipelines.