The demand for Natural Gas as a green fuel has increased steadily in India due to its inherent advantages of being convenient to store and safe to use. However, increased demand coupled with limited production of domestic gas has made it absolutely crucial that gas be procured from sources beyond Indian shores. To facilitate the process of importing gas into India, GAIL,the commercial operator of the Dhabol LNG terminal, had arranged commissioning cargo for the terminal in December 2012.
Operated by Ratnagiri Gas And Power Pvt. Ltd.( better known as RGPPL), a joint venture between us and NTPC currently this terminal has a capacity of 5 million tonne per annum (MTPA). To expand this capacity to 7.5 MTPA in the next 2 years, we are investing Rs.10 Billion and a further Rs. 20 Billion to increase it to 10 MTPA by 2016-17. Our project of 1,400 Km Dabhol – Bengaluru pipeline system which will transmit gas to the southern states is also at an advanced stage of commissioning.
To meet the demands & ensure uninterrupted gas supplies of our country, we have even stepped up our efforts to source LNG on a long-term basis from various projects across the world which include Qatar-based gas supplier RasGas, US, Africa, Europe and Russia. Catering to the additional demand for gas in India, we have been timely importing LNG on a spot basis.
At present Dahej and Hazira are the only operating LNG terminals catering to the LNG demand in India. Commissioning of Dabhol terminal at this crucial juncture shall facilitate higher volumes of LNG imports for securing energy for the country. This third LNG terminal of India would serve as a gateway for entry of natural gas to the southern and western parts of the country. With the commissioning of this terminal, we also expect to address the demand of gas in the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
The commissioning of the Dabhol terminal along with our cross country gas pipeline network is poised to integrate the entire gas market of India from Bhatinda/Nangal in North to Kochi in South spanning a gas grid over 10,500 km, making GAIL the ultimate Gateway for companies wanted to enter India’s Gas Market.
‘LNG Pioneer berthed at Jetty’
