India has 77 million tonnes of new regasification capacity proposed or under construction.The Asian nation has been tipped by big-hitters such as BG Group to make the global imports top three in the coming years, along with fellow growth superstar China. With 13 terminals in the mix, the bullish projections for India could prove more than wishful thinking. The country currently has two operational facilities, Shell and Total’s Hazira and Petronet LNG’s Dahej, and expansion projects are planned at both. The terminals now have a combined 12.5 million tonnes per annum of capacity. Dahej is set to add 5 million tpa and Hazira will jump from 2.5 million tpa to 10 million tpa in future build-outs.A further two sites are approaching the finishing line and are due to be operational before year-end, albeit at a slower pace than expected. Ratnagiri Gas & Power’s troubled Dabhol terminal should have been commissioned earlier this year but adverse weather conditions resulted in damage to the facility. Petronet LNG’s Kochi project has been hit by pipeline delays but is set to come online this month, according to the latest reports.Beyond these projects, however, not all proposed new terminals will come online as planned.“Most of the upcoming capacity is yet to be executed so it is premature to consider that all of the upcoming facilities would be commissioned in the near future,” said IFCI Financial Services research analyst Sachin Mehta.“We could possibly see some delays in execution or certain projects could get cancelled.”Gas marketer Gail (India) predicts, for instance, that a more modest 50 million tonnes of regas capacity will be online by 2017.“By the end of 2012 there will be around 22 million tonnes,” said a Gail marketing executive. If I look at the five-year horizon then India may have around 45 million to 50 million tonnes.”The global supply market should be able to meet that additional demand, he added.“Since (domestic gas) production is going down, we have to depend on the international market and they are going to support us on our requirements.”
Latest Jobs
India looking to drink deep
New terminals and expansion projects to lift LNG regas tally.
5 October 2012 11:25 GMT
Updated
5 October 2012 11:25 GMT
By