Indian Oil Corp to Boost LNG Business

Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) has decided to boost its LNG trading business four to five times in the next few years from the present 2.25 million tonne a year.

Talking to Financial Express, company’s chairman RS Butola said that IOC is in the process of stepping up its LNG re-gassification capacity to 10 million tonne a year to cater to the fast growing gas market in the country.

India now produces 169 million standard cubic metres a day (mscmd) of gas but the world's 13th largest gas consuming nation still has to import 35 mscmd to meet its requirements.

Butola said that IOC is trying to set up a new 5 million tonne a year LNG terminal at Ennore in Tamil Nadu.

This, along with another 2.5 million tonne capacity contemplated, would take the company's total LNG re-gassification capacity to 10 million tonne a year in the next couple of years.