Petronet LNG, one leading players in oil and natural gas industry space, will spend close to Rs 4500 crore to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on India's east coast by 2016, in order to help meet the growing demand of the energy-hungry nation. The company, which is partly owned by GAIL, Indian Oil Corporation and refiner Bharat Petroleum Corporation, has signed an agreement with Gangavaram Port to build the 5-million-tonne-a-year plant in southern Andhra Pradesh (AP) state.
Companies are building LNG import and re-gasification facilities on the east coast to meet demand of eastern and central part of India as plants are now located only on the west coast. The development of gas importer comes in the wake of problems at the D6 block, off India's east coast operated by Reliance Industries, which have curtailed domestic output. The state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) too struggles to arrest declining production from its ageing field.
Asia's third-largest economy is scouting for long-term LNG contracts to help power electricity generation, fertiliser production, city gas distribution and industries. Gas accounts for about 10 per cent of India's primary energy basket versus the world average of 24 per cent, and the country's gas demand is expected to grow at 14 per cent in the next five year.
