Petronet pushes back launch of additional Dahej LNG capacity

The Dahej LNG terminal is India’s largest LNG import facility, with a current capacity of 17.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).

Last year, Petronet launched two new Dahej LNG storage tanks, T-107 and T-108, each with a capacity of 180,000 cbm.

These two tanks add to six existing storage tanks at the Dahej terminal with a total capacity of 932,000 cbm, while Petonet is also building a third jetty at the facility.

Petronet’s executives previously said that the five mtpa additional capacity at the Dahej terminal was expected to be available by March 2025.

Earlier this year, Petronet LNG’s management said that capacity “should be in place by June.”

Discussing the Dahej LNG expansion during Petronet’s earnings results call last week, CGM and VP of marketing, Vivek Mittal, said that “within the next three to four months, we expect this to be ready for commissioning.”

He said that the company is in discussion with “various parties” for the additional regasification capacity.

“And in addition to this, some of our existing capacity holders also bring in additional volumes under the long-term contracts they have,” he said.

He said that almost 200 million tons of new liquefaction capacity will be added in the next three to four years, so LNG availability will also increase.

“So India is well-positioned to take advantage of that. So with that, we don’t see any issue with utilization of the terminal capacity, specifically the Dahej terminal, which is very well connected with the national gas grid,” Mittal said.

Gopalpur LNG

Besides Dahej, Petronet operates the 5 mtpa Kochi LNG terminal and is also working on the Gopalpur facility.

Petronet recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Odisha to build an LNG terminal in Gopalpur, Odisha.

The MoU is for the development of a five mtpa land-based LNG terminal at Gopalpur.

The LNG importer previously planned to install a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) in Gopalpur.

Petronet’s new finance chief, Saurav Mitra, noted during the call that Petronet’s board approved the project back in 2022.

However, this was for the FSRU-based terminal, and the capex was estimated to be around 23 billion rupees ($269 million).

Costs for a land-based facility will be higher.

“We have already started the land acquisition process. It is at an advanced stage. So going forward, any terminal takes about three to four years to build and come up,” Mitra said.

Additionally, Mittal stated that Petronet is currently in discussions with “our promoter offtakers for capacity booking or sale of volume” from the Gopalpur terminal.

“So those discussions are ongoing. But having said that, we are also open that even if there is no long-term commitment, we may look at setting up a terminal because we definitely believe with the growth of natural gas market, specifically in the eastern region of the country, we can ensure good utilization of that terminal,” he said.