GAIL's new LNG sampling system at Dabhol
Like a snail, GAIL moves slowly but usually gets there in the end.
For almost two years, GAIL's truck-loading bays at the Dabhol LNG terminal have been idle. By next year (2025), it aims to remedy that by finally setting up an LNG sampling system to assess the quality of gas before loading it into trucks.
This system will collect gas samples for analysis in a laboratory, which, combined with data on density and quantity, will help accurately determine a cargo's commercial value. Without such a system, the truck-loading bays cannot be used to transport LNG to remote locations without pipeline connectivity.
When GAIL opened bids on March 28 (2024), just one company offered a bid to set up the facility: Chennai-based Earth Tekniks. If selected, Earth Tekniks will be asked to design, manufacture, supply, install and commission the LNG sampling system within 12 months from the award date.
"Once installed, the system will take around two to three samples daily," we hear. "GAIL will store the samples in a bottle and then have them analysed for gas composition and heating value."
What's the point of this analysis? Because LNG is sold based on its mmbtu or gas heating value. "This was long overdue," says an industry source.
"GAIL should have planned this facility when it was planning the truck loading facility." After the system is ready, GAIL subsidiary Konkan LNG will supply LNG by truck from Dabhol to markets in Maharashtra, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh.
"Dabhol can then start catering to gas demand from CGD operators," our source adds. "A few CGD players take gas from Dabhol, but through pipelines; as of now, in most of western India, CGD companies take LNG by truck from Dahej; commissioning this Dabhol system will reduce transportation costs for CGD retailers."
GAIL began construction on the truck-loading bays in 2021 with an initial plan to start deliveries by March 2022. Unsurprisingly, it missed the target.