Petronet advances plans for eastern India LNG import terminal

Petronet LNG, India's largest LNG importer, has taken significant strides in establishing an LNG import terminal in eastern India. On December 27, the company announced the signing of binding transaction documents, including a sub-concession agreement, sub-lease deed, and port service agreement with Gopalpur Ports.

The proposed facility at Gopalpur Port in the state of Odisha will feature a floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) with an initial capacity of around 4mn tonnes/year, expandable to 5mn tonnes/year as a land-based terminal. The project, approved last year, marks Petronet's first LNG terminal on the east coast of India.

Petronet LNG presently operates two land-based LNG import and regasification terminals on the west coast of India, located at Dahej in Gujarat and Kochi in Kerala. The Dahej terminal has a capacity of 17.5mn tonnes/year while the Kochi terminal has a capacity of 5mn tonnes/year.