ONGC Adds Two Processing Plants to India's Gas Capacity

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (BSE:500312) (ONGC) (Dehradun) is moving on projects to expand its gas-processing capacity. ONGC is planning to construct an integrated gas-processing plant in the state of Maharashtra with an investment of $1.7 billion.

The new plant will be built near the Kelwa-Mahirn area. It will have a daily processing capacity of 10 million metric standard cubic meters per day and its own 30-megawatt (MW) dedicated power plant. ONGC also may construct a desalination plant at the site with an output capacity of 14,000 cubic meters per day, if fresh surface water is not available for the project.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests has prescribed terms of reference for the environmental impact assessment (EIA) and environmental management plan for the gas processing plant. The gas feed will come from the C-24 and B-12 fields in the Tapti Daman Block of the Western Offshore Basin.

In March, ONGC announced that it would set up, with its consortium partners BPCL (BSE:500547) (Mumbai) and Mitsui (Tokyo, Japan), a re-gasification LNG terminal at New Mangalore Port. The announcement followed a feasibility study for a terminal with a capacity of 2 million to 3 million metric tons per annum, which could be expanded to 5 million metric tons per annum. Studies are expected to produce plans covering technical, marine and environmental dimensions. An investment decision on the project is expected by early 2014, with a scheduled commissioning in 2018.

Mangalore is well-positioned to service future demand for LNG. It is a fast-growing industrial hub with major oil-refining and petrochemical complexes and a special economic zone. It has iron and fertilizer industries feeding downstream enterprises. Its coastal location and all-seasons operations also make it a strong link in the LNG supply chain.

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