LNG

The Indian Hiranandani Group with plans to deploy a floating storage and regasification unit within months for LNG imports at Jaigarh port, south of Mumbai, has signed a cooperation accord with Russian company Novatek, operator of the Yamal LNG plant in Siberia and developer of the Arctic LNG II project.

Novatek said the memorandum of understanding envisaged cooperation in LNG supplies to India on a long-term basis, joint investment in future Indian LNG terminals planned by Hiranandani and in Russian LNG projects.

The family-controlled Hiranandani conglomerate and Novatek said they also planned to establish a joint venture to market LNG and natural gas to end-customers in India, Bangladesh and other markets.

The Indian company’s FSRU is expected to start commercial operations at Jaigarh port in the fourth quarter of 2019, a year behind schedule.

Chief Executive Darshan Hiranandani said recently the Indian project was on track and in addition to the FSRU includes related infrastructure and a pipeline of 60 kilometres.

“India is one of the largest and fastest growing LNG markets, and will be one of the main sources of future growth in global demand for natural gas,” said Novatek Chairman Leonid Mikhelson after the accord was signed with Hiranandani at an economic forum in the Russian Far East city of Vladivostok.

“It is an important step towards entering the end-customer market in India, which is of great interest to Novatek taking into account our strategic plans to implement new LNG projects and significantly increase our LNG production volumes,” added Mikhelson.

The Hiranandani Group's H-Energy subsidiary will operate the Jaigarh terminal with annual capacity of 4 million tonnes per annum of LNG and with re-loading capabilities.

Hiranandani is one of the largest Indian companies with its main offices in Mumbai and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

While it started as a property investment business it has broadened its interests into other areas such as energy and power.

H-Energy CEO Darshan Hiranandani said he was “excited” to partner with Novatek in Arctic LNG II and to participate in and bring supplies to downstream customers in India and Bangladesh.

“This will be through its terminals in Jaigarh, Kakinada and Haldia and through its two pipelines, Jaigarh to Mangalore and Kannai-Chatta to Shrirampur. This will  ensure a safe, reliable and economic supply chain from the gas fields to the burner tip,” explained Darshan Hiranandani.

The Indian FSRU charter to H-Energy is for a period of five years and the ship will arrive at the LNG jetty at Jaigarh just before the start-up.

Most of the onshore infrastructure work has almost been completed by Engineers India Ltd (EIL), a project construction company.

H-Energy said the West Coast facility would be of great benefit to Maharashtra state by providing clean fuel for transportation and for city-gas use.

“The LNG terminal will offer storage, regasification, re-loading, bunkering and truck-loading facilities to cater to the growing energy demand of Indian industries,” said the company.

When operational, the regasified LNG will be supplied to customers through the pipeline connected to national gas grids at the city of Dabhol.

The facility would be the fifth LNG import terminal located near Mumbai, with three of them located at Hazira, Dahej and Dabhol for use by importers Shell, Petronet LNG and Gas Authority of India respectively.

A fourth is mechanically completed at Mundra. It is owned by Gujarat State Petroleum and the Adani Group, though has yet to be fully commissioned.

However, there is only one LNG terminal for the whole East Coast of India with about half-a-dozen others planned.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first East Coast facility in March 2019 at Kamarajar Port in Tamil Nadu.

The Kamarajar facility is owned by Indian Oil Corp., the refining and fuel marketing company, and has 5 MTPA of import capacity and two tanks each with storage of 180,000 cubic metres.

Novatek also signed an LNG fuel transport agreement in Vladivostok with Petronet LNG, operator of the Dahej terminal north of Mumbai and the Kochi terminal in the southwest state of Kerala.

The Novatek-Petronet accord is on future LNG projects and the joint marketing of LNG as motor fuel in India, including joint investment in developing a network of filling stations and a fleet of LNG-fueled trucks.

Indian Oil Corp., the refining and fuel marketing company, has started commissioning the first liquefied natural import terminal on the East Coast of India near the city of Chennai with a shipment from Qatar.

The new terminal is located at Kamarajar Port in the southeast state of Tamil Nadu .

The commissioning cargo was unloaded from the 160,000 cubic metres capacity carrier “Golar Snow” after being lifted from the Qatargas export complex at Ras Laffan on February 17 and delivered to Kamarajar where the vessel was still moored on March 4.

During the cool-down process all the systems and infrastructure at the newest Indian terminal are being made ready to safely receive and handle regular cargoes and regasified LNG.

The storage tanks and all the related terminal equipment were cooled with vapour to take the first cargo.

Indian Oil’s terminal at Kamarajar, formerly one of India’s main coal ports and previously called Ennore, will have annual capacity of 5 million tonnes per annum.

Kamarajar is India’s sixth LNG import terminal and is expected to spur industrial growth in the area with the regasified LNG being distributed to power generation plants, fertiliser plants and other industrial units.

Indian Oil is the main stakeholder in the facility, though other investors have been named as the Indian private equity fund, IDFC Alternatives, and ICICI Bank, part of an Indian multinational banking and financial services company based in Mumbai.

Once the Kamarajar terminal is fully commissioned it will join the five other facilities on the West Coast at Dahej, Dabhol, Hazira, Mundra and Kochi to supply India’s growing natural gas needs.

Analysts said the coming on stream of this first regasification facility on the East Coast is a landmark in Indian Oil's efforts and those of the government to improve natural gas infrastructure in the country.

The Kamarajar terminal is located about 25 kilometres north of Chennai Port and initially the imports will supply natural gas to industry in the Manali area, including Madras Fertilizers Ltd., Chennai Petroleum Corp. and Tamil Nadu Petroproducts.

The venture and several other East Coast terminals under development will rebalance the nation’s regasification infrastructure with East Coast import capability.

Indian Oil is also pursuing city-gas projects and another East Coast LNG terminal with Gas Authority of India and the Adani Group.

With GAIL and Adani, Indian Oil is developing the Dhamra project in the state of Odisha.

The Dhamra terminal will bring in LNG imports to serve city-gas and power projects as well as industrial customers.

Indian Oil Corp., the refining and fuel marketing company, is set to begin commissioning of the first liquefied natural import terminal on the East Coast of India near the city of Chennai.

Atlantic Gulf and Pacific Co., the Philippines-based maker of modules for liquefied natural gas and other energy projects, has signed an agreement with Karaikal Port on the southeast coast if India to develop an LNG import terminal.

Indian Oil Corp., the refining and fuel marketing company, has held a bond sale to help finance the Ennore LNG import project being developed near the port of Chennai and set to be one of the first ragasification facilities to come on line on the East Coast of India.