HPCL’s Chhara LNG terminal receives commissioning cargo

The 2007-built LNG carrier Maran Gas Coronis, owned by a joint venture of Greece’s Maran Gas and Qatar’s Nakilat, was on Thursday located at the Chhara LNG terminal’s jetty, its AIS data provided by VesselsValue shows.

Maran Gas Coronis previously loaded the shipment at the Petronas-operated giant Bintulu LNG complex in Sarawak, Malaysia, the data shows.

In November last year, HPCL’s finance chief Rajneesh Narang said during the company’s earnings call that the company plans to bring the commissioning cargo in December or January 2025.

Prior to that, the 2015-built 159,800-cbm, Maran Gas Mystras, arrived in May at the delayed LNG terminal in the Chhara port with a cargo from the Punta Europa LNG terminal in Equatorial Guinea.

However, the LNG carrier did not unload this commissioning shipment due to the “rough sea and the swell beyond the permitted limits,” HPCL previously said.

Narang said during the call that HPCL has not yet completed the breakwater for the LNG facility to protect it during the monsoon season which typically lasts from June to September.

Simar Port is building these facilities.

He said the breakwater is about 1,900 meters long.

“Now out of that 1,900 meters, 1050 meters have already been done. And the balance also, it has reached 4 meters, below the water level. Up to that place, it has been done,” Narang said.

“Now with the fair-weather season starting effective October, the work will shortly start over there for completing the balance part,” he said.

“We are hopeful that in this fair-weather season, the same should be completed,” he said.

India’s eighth LNG import facility

HPCL LNG (HPLNG), a unit of HPCL, built the LNG terminal with all associated facilities for receipt, unloading, storage, regasification of LNG, and gas supply to the grid.

The firm, formerly known as HPCL Shapoorji Energy Private Limited (HSEPL), was incorporated as a 50:50 joint venture between HPCL and SP Ports Private Limited (SPPPL) on October 15, 2013.

However, HPCL purchased the 50 percent stake from SPPPL in March 2021, becoming the sole owner of the LNG import facility.

The LNG terminal features the 1.2 km long jetty capable of receiving carriers with a capacity of 80,000 cbm to 266,000 cbm, and two LNG storage tanks each with a capacity of 200,000 cbm, according to HPLNG.

HPCL previously said that the pipeline which connects the terminal was mechanically completed.

GSPL built the 42km long pipeline, which stretches to Gundala, and from there, it is connected to the gas grid.

The Chhara LNG terminal is India’s eighth LNG import facility.

At the moment, India imports LNG via seven facilities with a combined capacity of about 47.7 million tonnes per year.

These include Petronet LNG’s Dahej and Kochi terminals, Shell’s Hazira terminal, and the Dabhol LNG, Ennore LNG, Mundra LNG, and Dhamra LNG terminal.