India’s first East Coast regas project, Ennore LNG terminal, was commissioned by Indian Oil Corp. Ltd. (IOC). IOC, through its joint venture company Indian Oil LNG Pvt. Ltd., set up the 5-million tonne/year capacity LNG import terminal at Kamarajar Port, Ennore.
The Ennore terminal is the first LNG terminal on the east coast in South India that will serve customers in the southern and eastern region. To supply natural gas to various consumers, IOC is laying a 1,244-km pipeline for evacuation of gas from Ennore terminal.
“IOC has already secured captive customers for 2 million tpy of capacity. The Ennore terminal will also help fast-track IOC’s city gas distribution plan, as gas from the terminal will be supplied to consumers around Chennai and Madurai,” Wood Mackenzie’s senior analyst Kaushik Chatterjee said.
“Indian regas capacity had constrained imports in recent years. Both Dahej and Hazira operated at maximum levels through much of 2018. The commissioning of Ennore will be the first in a series of regas projects coming online in 2019; Mundra and Jaigarh FSRU are next,” Chatterjee said.
“One additional terminal is under construction at Dhamra on India’s east coast and is expected to be completed in 2022. Furthermore, Dahej’s capacity is being increased by 2.5 million tpy to 17.5 million tpy, while the completion of the Kochi pipeline and Dabhol breakwater are also likely by 2020,” Chatterjee said.
“Once all these terminals and enhancements are completed, India’s regas capacity will reach 56.5 million tpy by 2025 from the existing 25.5 million tpy. Beyond this, India’s ability to import significant volumes of LNG could be enhanced further if several other proposed regas terminals proceed,” the senior analyst said.
