Ennore LPG terminal awaits CRZ clearance
Kochi   17-May-2012

The LPG import terminal project of IndianOil Petronas Pvt Ltd (IPPL) near Chennai that can help in speeding up cooking gas supplies to millions of households in the South, especially Tamil Nadu, is facing delay in its commissioning for want of a clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment.

The Ennore terminal had been completed in all respects and was got ready for commissioning by March itself, say sources in IndianOil.

The wait, according to IPPL officials, is for the CRZ (coastal regulation zone) clearance from the Ministry for the pipelines connecting the jetty at the Ennore port and the terminal. A length of 675 m is falling in the CRZ zone, they add.

Once commissioned, the Rs.500-crore project, a joint venture of IndianOil and the Malaysian Government-owned Petronas, would help improve availability of LPG to the bottling plants. Bulk LPG requirement of Tamil Nadu is around 1.2 million tonnes annually, while the refineries of Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd, a group company of IOC, produce only 4 lakh tonnes of the fuel. Over the last few months, a combination of factors, including financial constraints, has led to acute shortage of LPG in Tamil Nadu. For the households, it has been an agonising wait, up to as much as two months in some areas, for getting a refill cylinder. This situation, according to an IndianOil official, could be avoided with the commissioning of the terminal. The terminal would have a capacity to handle 1.2 million tonnes per annum and blend propane and butane to make LPG. It would also cater to industrial consumers. The environmental clearance for the terminal, say sources, was obtained in April 2008 and for the jetty portion in May 2006.

A senior executive of IPPL said the proposal came up before the meeting of the Expert Appraisal Committee of the Environment Ministry on April 16. Some clarifications were sought, for which IPPL has responded. “We are hopeful of getting the Ministry's approval by June-end. Then we will apply to the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board for consent to operate,” he said.