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Petronet’s management, led by finance chief Saurav Mitra, discussed the construction of new LNG storage tanks during the company’s earnings call on Tuesday.
Petronet currently operates eight LNG storage tanks at its 22.5 mtpa Dahej LNG terminal and two at its 5 mtpa Kochi LNG terminal.
In 2024, Petronet launched two storage tanks at the Dahej facility, each with a capacity of 180,000 cbm.
Petronet’s management said during the call that the company expects LNG supplies from Qatar to resume within 3–4 weeks after the Middle East conflict ends.
Petronet issued a force majeure notice on March 3 to its offtakers, including its shareholder GAIL, after it received a notice from state-owned LNG giant QatarEnergy, which stopped production at its giant Ras Laffan LNG plant due to attacks.
In order to secure supplies amid the conflict, Petronet is increasing diversification with LNG cargoes from Congo, Mauritania and Senegal, and Oman, the company’s managament said.
Petronet also recently started importing LNG under a new contract it signed with US energy giant ExxonMobil in 2027.
The agreement saw Petronet increase its LNG supplies from ExxonMobil by 1.2 million tonnes annually to approximately 2.6 million tonnes per year, including from the Gorgon LNG project in Australia.
Petronet’s management said during the call that the company aims to develop additional LNG tanks so that, in times of crisis, those volumes are available to the market.
The company plans to build two LNG tanks as part of its planned land-based LNG import terminal in Gopalpur, Odisha, and one more LNG tank at its Kochi terminal.
Petronet is also planning to add “three to four” LNG tanks at its Dahej terminal, but additional land availability is an issue at India’s largest LNG terminal, the management said.
There are no “immediate” plans for additional LNG tanks at Dahej, but Petronet is definitely planning to build the Gopalpur tanks and is “actively considering” building the new Kochi LNG tanks, the management said.