Petronet LNG setting up floating terminal in Odisha

New Delhi: Petronet LNG Ltd, India's largest liquefied natural gas importer, will set up a floating LNG receipt facility at Gopalpur port in Odisha at Rs2,306 crore. The company has signed an agreement with Gopalpur Ports Ltd for the facility that will have a capacity of about 4 million tonnes per annum, it said in a tweet.

"We are pleased to inform that @PetronetLNGLtd is heading forward in establishing its presence on the east coast of India by signing a term sheet with Gopalpur Ports Limited on December 14, 2022, for establishing and operating LNG terminal at Gopalpur port in Odisha," it said.

Last month, the company's board had accorded investment approval for setting up the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) based LNG terminal at Gopalpur. LNG is natural gas that has been supercooled, changing it from a gas into a liquid that is 1/600th of its original volume. This helps in easy transportation through ships.

At the receipt facility, it is turned back into gas before being supplied to factories to produce fertiliser, generate electricity at power plants, or turned into CNG for running automobiles.

Petronet's project in the Ganjam district in Odisha, which is expected to be operational before the end of 2025, will be financed by a combination of debt and equity. Gopalpur will be the third LNG terminal on the east coast -- Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) operates a 5 million tonnes a year facility at Ennore in Tamil Nadu while Adani Group in partnership with TotalEnergie of France is building a facility at Dhamra port.