Indian natural gas transmission network owner, Gas Authority of India, has signed a preliminary agreement with Paradip Port Trust in Eastern India for setting up an offshore LNG import terminal.
The GAIL accord with Paradip port is for a floating storage and regasification unit located at the port in the state of Orissa, south of Calcutta.
The Paradip project is expected to have an initial 4.8 million tonnes per annum of capacity and come on line by 2017.
It adds to more than half-a-dozen other LNG import ventures under development in India at present, mostly on the east coast which does not have any import facilities.
GAIL currently has regasification capacity at three of India's four operating LNG import terminals at Dahej and Dabhol on the west coast near Mumbai and at the Kochi import terminal in the southwest state of Kerala.
Other new ventures in addition to Paradip include the planned Ennore terminal of Indian Oil Corp., the Mundra facility planned by Gujarat State Petroleum and Adani Group, and two Andhra Pradesh ventures at Kakinada and Gangavaram involving France's GDF-Suez and Royal Dutch Shell.
In addition to overseeing India’s pipeline and LNG terminal networks, GAIL has been at the forefront of securing LNG sources overseas.
GAIL has existing supply agreements with companies such as Qatargas, Russia’s Gazprom and GDF-Suez.
It has also secured two liquefaction tolling agreements for two US export projects, one in the Gulf coast with Sabine Pass in Louisiana and another on the east coast state of Maryland with Dominion’s Cove Point venture.
