Phase-2 of Kochi LNG terminal will be delayed

PLL has concern over inter - state pipe line work

Phase - 2 of the Petronet LNG terminal at Puthuvype, near here, is likely to face an inordinate delay in commissioning due to the time lag in laying pipeline in the Kochi - Bangalore and Kochi - Mangalore segments. The company has now decided to take a cautious approach in bringing in LNG from overseas suppliers as marketing and distribution  are  major concern. Actually, the top brass of the company is completely  in the dark about the commissioning of the second phase as  the progress of the work on the pipe line is pathetically slow.

According to A.K. Balyan, managing director of PLL,  so far only 30 kms  had been completed of the total 900 km lines passing through Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. 505 km of the pipeline pass through Kerala, 310 km through Tamilnadu and 85 km through Karnataka. Resistance from land owners in Kerala and Tamil Nadu has held up the work very  badly. Tamil Nadu government is also opposing land acquisition and the issue is now under judicial scrutiny. Balyan said that the issue is likely to be sorted out very soon as  GAIL officials are in contact  with the Tamil Nadu government. Once the issue is get  sorted out it will not take much time to fix the pipes, say around 6-7 moths, he said.

GAIL is laying the   pipeline from Kochi to Kootanad in Palakkad district and thereon to Bangalore and Mangalore.

Addressing a press conference here today he added that the company is very much concerned about the slow progress on the work of the pipe line as this affects the capacity utlilisation of the terminal. Even in phase -1 which had a rather soft launch on Tuesday, the present capacity utilization will be only  8-10 per cent. There are  only 2 assured takers at present, BPCL Kochi Refinery and FACT. Both the companies  together consume roughly 0.5 Million Metric Tones Per Annum (MMTPA),  though the total capacity of the terminal is  5 MMTPA.

He told Business Standard that the Kochi terminal would receive gas from Australia only by mid 2015 as the inordinate delay in fixing the pipe line warrants a restricted import. A senior officer of the company said,  ‘It is just like driving a brand new  car in first gear only’. Commercial supplies of regasified LNG to BPCL Kochi Refinery and FACT, will begin within a week.

Although Tumkur in Karnataka has now been got connected to Dhabol terminal, requirement of Mangalore area would be met from Kochi facility, Balyan said.

He said that city gas distribution project would soon be implemented in Kochi and adjacent towns and later to extend to other cities in Kerala.  250 citiesôtowns across the country have already been identified to put under the city gas distribution programme. Phase I of the pipe lines, involving  43 KM   in Kochi had already been commissioned.  

On the marketing side,  talks with  Travancore Cochin Chemicals (TCC), BSES/REL, Nita Gelatin, Brahmapuram Power plant and  Hindustan Organic Chemicals (HOC) is in full swing.   

He also said that the formal inauguration of the green field Kochi terminal would happen sometime in September or October.