Petronet LNG to invest Rs14,500 crore by 2011

Petronet LNG, India's major provider of liquefied natural gas (LNG), plans to line up Rs14,500 crore investment by 2011 for its LNG terminal, power plant and allied projects in Puthuvypeen, near Kochi in Kerala.

The 2.5 MMTPA (million metric tonnes per annum) LNG re-gasification project will involve an investment of Rs3,750 crore and the proposed 1,068 megawatt gas-based power plant would cost Rs3,250 crore. An investment of Rs2,500 crore is planned for acquiring two LNG vessels along with other partners.

Additionally, one of the company's promoters, Gas Authority of India Ltd. (GAIL) plans to invest Rs5,000 crore in gas pipelines connecting Kochi with Mangalore, Coimbatore, Erode, Salem and Bangalore.

Petronet managing director P Dasgupta told reporters in Kochi on Saturday that the company has tied up with the Australian subsidiaries of ExxonMobil Corp. for the supply of 1.5 MMTPA of LNG from Gorgon for a period of 20 years and the deal is expected to be signed by 10 August. (See: Exxon Mobil, Petronet reach LNG supply deal)

The LNG project will benefit two major consumers in the state, Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd. and the National Thermal Power Corporation's Kayamkulam plant.

Dasgupta told the company requires 40 hectares of land additionally for the power plant for which it had approached the Cochin Port Trust and the State Government.