Indian Oil commissions Ennore LNG import and regasification terminal

State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has commissioned the Rs51.5bn ($734.82m) Ennore LNG import and regasification terminal at Kamarajar Port, Ennore, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

The 5Mtpa terminal is the first import facility on the country’s east coast. The Ennore facility will cater to customers in the southern and eastern regions through a proposed 1,244km pipeline, which will evacuate gas from the terminal.

Conceived six years ago, the terminal was developed by IOC through its Indian Oil LNG joint venture company, along with private equity fund IDFC Alternatives and ICICI Bank.

Citing an unnamed company spokesperson, The Hindu reported that a portion of the LNG from the facility will be used to meet the demands of customers such as Chennai Petroleum Corporation, Madras Fertilisers, Tamil Nadu Petroproducts and Manali Petrochemicals.

The gas will also be used for city gas distribution, including the transport sector, commerce and households.

IOC purchased a commissioning cargo of LNG from commodities trader Gunvor last month.

India aims to double its LNG import and regasification capacity to 56.5Mtpa by 2025 to meet its domestic energy needs, according to Wood Mackenzie.

Wood Mackenzie senior analyst Kaushik Chatterjee said: “IOCL has already secured captive customers for 2Mtpa of capacity. The Ennore terminal will help fast-track IOCL’s city gas distribution plan, as gas from the terminal will be supplied to consumers around Chennai and Madurai.

“In the longer term, Ennore could become integrated with India’s national gas network via a pipeline to Vijayawada or Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh. We believe the commissioning of Ennore may also lead IOCL to source more LNG directly rather than via Petronet.”