LNG terminal proposed at Ennore

Union minister for petroleum and natural gas, Murli Deora, on Monday held discussions with the state administration for setting up an LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminal and a power plant at Ennore. The proposed project is to be developed by Indian Oil Corporation, along with state-run Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (Tidco), with an outlay of around Rs 10,000 crore.

Speaking to reporters after attending the Parliamentary Consultative Committee meeting comprising 45 MPs here today, Deora said the state government would study the project.

“We also requested the state government to allocate land to Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd (CPCL) for its proposed expansion plan,” the minister said. CPCL is a group company of Indian Oil Corporation, the country's leading public-sector oil marketing company.

The minister earlier handed over the sanction letter providing 6,00,000 free LPG connections in 2010-11 to state chief minister M Karunanidhi.

S Sundareshan, secretary, ministry of petroleum and natural gas, said LPG penetration in Tamil Nadu was around 73 per cent compared with the national average of 51 per cent. “This will be further expanded with the additional allocation of 600,000 connections,” he said.