April 22, 2015 [Business Standard] - Real estate developer Hiranandani Group plans to set up a Rs 2,400 crore floating LNG import terminal off Haldia, West Bengal, and supply imported gas to users as far as Paradip in Odisha.
H-Energy Pvt Ltd, the Energy arm of the Hiranandani Group, plans to set up a 4 million tons a year floating storage and Re-gasification unit (FSRU) some 115-km off the Haldia coast by first quarter of 2019.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) will be imported in cryogenic ships at FSRU, reconverted into gaseous state before moving to an onshore terminal.
The company provided these details in an application it moved to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) for laying pipelines to connect the onshore terminal to users.
It plans to build a pipeline from Contai in West Bengal to Paradip in Odisha and Dattapuli in West Bengal.
While the Contai-Paradip-Dattapuli main line will be 553-km, H-Energy wants to lay 152-km of spur lines to reach customers in Cuttak and Bhubaneshwar in Odisha and Haldia, Kolkata and Kolaghat in West Bengal, according to the application.
“Total demand for natural gas along the proposed pipeline is expected to be 14.4 million standard cubic meters per day by 2019,” it said.
It listed Indian Oil Corp’s (IOC) Paradip and Haldia refineries as potential customers of the gas. Besides fertiliser plants in Paradip and Haldia and Haldia Petrochemical Ltd (HPL), the firm also listed “gas demand in Bangladesh” as major customers of the imported LNG.
City gas requirements in Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Haldia as also industrial demand was listed as likely consumers.
“Currently, the states in east India viz West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh are devoid of a continual gas source to meet their requirements of power and feedstock and hence have to depend on other alternative and costlier sources of fuels,” the company said.
The estimated potential of natural gas in West Bengal and Odisha markets alone is estimated to be in the range of 7-8 mmscmd currently, which is projected to increase to 14-18 mmscmd by 2019-20.
H-Energy said all major engineering studies for FSRU have been completed. MoU with FSRU supplier has been executed, environment clearance obtained and land acquired for the onshore terminal.
While the FSRU will cost Rs 2,400 crore, another Rs 2,700 crore will be spent on gas pipeline system.
