lndianOil to setup Rs 4,500-cr LNG, unit with TNIDC
New Delhi   23-Mar-2012

In a move to address shortage of liquified natural gas (LNG) supply, state-run Indian Oil Corporation(IOC) today signed an agreement with the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TNIDC) for setting up a Rs 4,500-crore LNG terminal near here.

IOC chairman and managing director RS Butola and TIDCO managing director and state industries department principal secretary N Sundaradevan exchanged documents in the presence of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa at a function.

"We IndianOil signed an agreement with TIDCO for the LNG terminal, whereby we will be importing the LNG and selling it in domestic market wherever it is required. It will entail an investment of Rs 4,500 crore, which has been sanctioned by IndianOil board," Butola said.

Stating that the project would initially have a capacity of about 5 million tonne, he said the plant may be scaled up to 10 million tonne whenever there is an increase in demand.

He said the project was coming up on a 132 acre land at Kattupalli near Chennai. "Since we will also be setting up joint venture, TIDCO will be taking small equity stake, which is about 5 per cent," he said.

For importing the LNG, he said IndianOil would either go for a long term contract and the other possibility is to buy through on the spot basis. "We have kept the options wide open", he said, adding, the project was expected to be completed by December 2015 or early 2016.

Besides IndianOil, TIDCO also signed an MoU with the Engineers India for upgrading the infrastructure of Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR) of Cuddalore and Nagapattinam districts.

Engineers India chairman and managing director AK Purwaha exchanged documents with TIDCO CMD and State Industries deparment principal secretary N Sundaradevan on the occasion