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India aims to build a network of LNG stations, as part of a move to shy away from diesel and slash emissions.
Petronet, the operator of the Dahej and Kochi LNG import terminals, has been advocating the use of LNG in India’s road transport for years.
The company is investing in its small-scale LNG business, and has been supplying small industrial customers which are not connected with pipeline for years via trucks.
Currently, Petronet has a total of six truck loading bays, including four bays at the Dahej terminal and two bays at the Kochi terminal which adds up to a cumulative capacity of 60 truck loadings per day, according to the company’s website.
Petronet plans to double its truck loading bay capacity to be able to load 120 tanker trucks per day.
Four LNG stations
Asked about the progress made on LNG as fuel for heavy-duty vehicles during Petronet’s recent quarterly results call, Petronet’s finance chief Vinod Kumar Mishra said the company had been putting a lot of effort into that sector and “we have put up four LNG stations and all are on the verge of commissioning.”
“And it is along with one of the offtakers we have tied up,” he said.
He said that Petronet plans to set up “more” LNG stations, adding that once this sector “is instigated perhaps this will have huge consumption.”
“Because if somebody is having a fleet of 200 trucks and they convert it to LNG fuel trucks, perhaps it will be a huge benefit to the fleet owner as well as to the sector because LNG, in any case, will be around 15 per to 20 percent lower in terms of prices,” he said.
He said that is a “big gain” for the fleet owners and it will help “in also just inciting this sector in future and we can further propagate in other areas of the country because it’s only showcasing something before the customers, before the public that this is the benefit you are getting like it happened in case of CNG.”
Fleet owners, OMCs
“So, we are making all efforts, but it has huge potential. And we are hopeful that it will come in the near future,” Mishra said.
“But we have started it, and we are talking to various fleet owners also,” he said.
Also, Mishra said that “more and more OMCs (oil marketing companies) have come in this field.”
“They now also want to put up some LNG stations,” he said.
“So, we are also doing some stations. But most of the LNG stations will be put up by offtakers. And we will be happy in supplying LNG to these offtakers to their stations,” Mishra said.
“So, this is our endeavor that more and more LNG usage should be done in future. So, that will happen whether we put up the LNG station or it is put up by OMCs,” he added.