Shell Gas and its partner Total will raise the capacity of their 3.6 million mt/year Hazira LNG terminal in Gujarat, western India, to 5 million mt/year, with the new capacity expected to come online early in the second quarter of 2012, Deepak Mukarji, country head, Shell India corporate affairs, said Friday.
"Clearly, we are very upbeat about LNG demand in India and thus this expansion," he said, adding that there will be no disruption in services to customers during the expansion period.
India's LNG demand has increased as gas production from Reliance Industries' prolific eastern offshore D6 block in the Krishna Godavari Basin was declining. Average production is currently around 42 million cubic meters/day against targeted production of 69 million cu m/d.
Petronet LNG, the largest player in the business, is also expanding the capacity of its Dahej terminal in Gujarat, to 15 million mt/year, Platts previously reported. The Dahej plant's nameplate capacity is 10 million mt/year, but it can process up to 11.5 million mt/year. The nameplate capacity is expected to increase to 12.5 million mt/year by 2013 and 15 million mt/year by 2015. Petronet LNG is also likely to commission its 5 million mt/year greenfield LNG terminal at Kochi, west coast of India, by Q4 2012.
"To fully realize the potential that gas has to offer India, it is critical that inter-state and intra-state pipeline networks be implemented speedily," Mukarji said.
There is a rush of proposals for new LNG terminal projects on the west coast as well as on the east coast of India. State-owned refiner Indian Oil Corp. has decided to set up a 5 million mt/year terminal at Ennore, near Chennai on the east coast and is looking at the possibility of another terminal near its upcoming refinery at Paradip, Orissa, also on the east coast. Another state-owned refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd., Petronet LNG and GAIL are also looking at the possibility of an east coast terminal.
Gujarat, home to two existing terminals is likely to get two more, a 5 million mt/year LNG terminal proposed by Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation along with its partner Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone Limited, and a 4.5 million mt/year terminal by Mumbai-based Swan Energy.
