The Hindu : Front Page : Petrochemical complex project put on hold

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Monday, Jun 25, 2007
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Petrochemical complex project put on hold

Staff Reporter

Murli Deora: gas cracker project has not been shelved
Commissioning of LNG terminal delayed by a year

KOCHI: GAIL (India) Ltd., formerly Gas Authority of India Ltd., has put on hold its proposed petrochemical complex here because most of the imported natural gas is not ethane-rich.

At a press conference here on Sunday, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Murli Deora said the gas-cracker project had not been shelved, but it would be unviable unless the country got ethane-rich gas. A.K. Purwaha, Director for Business Development, GAIL, said Engineers India had in 2005 prepared a detailed feasibility report for the petrochemical complex project, which wou ld have involved an investment of more than Rs.6,000 crore. The complex was to come up on about 200 hectares of Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd. (FACT) land at Ambalamugal.

New LNG deadline

Commissioning of the LNG terminal here has been pushed back a year to February 2011.

D.N. Narasimha Raju, Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said the Rs.3,000-crore project had been delayed, as long-term negotiations took time. He ruled out cost escalation on account of the delay.

Petronet LNG Ltd., which is setting up the terminal, hopes to conclude a purchase agreement with an Australian company, Gorgon, for 2.5-million tonnes of gas by June 2008. It would also reach a gas-supply agreement with the National Thermal Power Corporation.

The engineering-procurement contract is expected to be awarded by July-end. The Cochin Port Trust has promised to build a temporary bridge for carrying of soil for landfill on the project site on the Puthuvype island. Mr. Raju said the contract bids had to be reworked after a fresh estimate of the soil required.

He said the port authorities had promised to provide adequate draught for LNG vessels. Agreements on wharfage and land lease were pending, but would be cleared soon.

Smart cards

PTI adds: Mr. Deora said diversion of kerosene meant for the public distribution sys tem in the State had come to his Ministry’s notice. The Government was working on introducing a system to stop it.

To prevent domestic LPG cylinders from being used for commercial purposes, the Government was contemplating introduction of “smart cards” for consumers, he said.

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