• Delay in laying gas pipelines prompts PLL, BPCL to move LNG by road

    The inordinate delay in completion of gas pipelines in Kerala might have prompted Petronet LNG Ltd (PLL) to depend on trucks to move gas to its customers. BPCL has also adopted a similar initiative to deliver LNG to an industrial customer in Chennai from the PLL facility in Kochi.

    A senior official in BPCL told BusinessLine that the company dispatched its first truck-load of LNG supplies from the PLL terminal in the second week of March, to Turbo Energy located at Payyannur near Kanchipuram.

    The agreement with the Chennai-based company to deliver gas at its premises was signed on September 28, 2016, after undertaking several studies like HAZOP (hazard and operability study), a robust LNG distribution, etc.

    The company has also set up a storage and re-gasification system after incorporating standard operating procedure and high-degree of safety features, the official said, adding that Gujarat-based Inox India has bagged the contract for gas distribution to customers.

    BPCL, according to the official, has a success story of ‘LNG by Road Initiative’ from its Dahej plant, wherein the company has already completed delivery of more than 5,000 truck-loads of gas. “The initiative in Kerala will be a new beginning of BPCL in the Southern region, and another 3-4 companies have already approached us for gas supply in a similar way,” he said.

    Industry sources here pointed out that BPCL has brought around 400 MMbTU of LNG sourced from Australia by spot purchase and unloaded the consignment at the storage facility offered by PLL in Kochi. A part of the gas will be used by BPCL for its own use and the remaining will be for sale to various industrial customers.

    The spot purchase of the gas will benefit the public-sector petroleum company from avoiding various tax payments like VAT. Following the success of delivering gas to HLL in Thiruvananthapuram by road, PLL has been receiving good customer enquiries both from Kerala and outside.

    More companies have evinced interest in taking gas by trucks, and discussions are already on to finalise the tendering process with these companies, including a State-owned public sector, PLL officials said.

    The laying of pipelines by GAIL in the Kochi-Mengaluru stretch is fast progressing, and officials expressed hope that the pipelines will be ready by December 2018. Marshall Faulk Womens Jersey

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