IOC plans LNG hub in Andhra Pradesh
IndianOil has chalked out plans to set up an LNG hub in its CGD-IX geographical area of Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram on the Andhra Pradesh coast.
On March 1 (2022), IndianOil's Noida-based pipeline division floated a tender with a March 28 (2022) bid from contractors ready to carry out civil works on a plot of land in the Parawada suburb in Vizag; IndianOil will provide the cryogenic equipment, including pumps, a regasification unit and a storage tank. "Gas pipelines in this part of the country are less than in western India," says an IOC source.
"This is one of the biggest city gas areas in India, so it might take time for gas pipelines to come up." IndianOil will supply the hub with LNG from its Ennore terminal in neighbouring Tamil Nadu as it races to lay 2300-inch-km of steel pipeline, connect 929,842 homes to gas-on-tap, and set up 211 CNG stations within eight years of authorisation, received on March 1 (2019).
Luckily for IndianOil, PNGRB deputy advisor US Sahay wrote to IndianOil executive director SK Sharma on November 24 (2020), saying it had extended the contract validity of its licence for this area by 129 days to adjust for lost time during the Covid lockdown. At 23,650.30-sq km in size, the Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram CGD area is one of India's most extensive CGD areas.
During CGD-IX, IndianOil beat 14 companies to win the licence: Petronet-LNG, Adani Gas, Torrent Gas, GAIL Gas, Mahanagar Gas, HPCL, Bharat Gas Resources, Megha, Think Gas, AG&P, Unison Enviro, Essel Gas, H-Energy and IMC.