Indian LNG importer Petronet LNG is planning to increase the capacity of its Dahej terminal in Gujarat, India, by 29 percent to 22.5 million tpa.
The company’s chief executive, AK Singh, said the expansion work at the terminal, which currently has a capacity of 17.5 million tpa, will take place in two phases. The first phase, (which will add 2.5 million tpa), will take place within 3–4 years.
Singh said the expansion work is necessary to meet growing demand. The current share of gas in India’s energy mix is 6.2 percent, but India’s prime minister Narendra Modi wants to increase this to 15 percent.
He added that this would require a four-fold increase in gas consumption, and Petronet LNG is also seeking to build a new terminal on India’s east coast.
Petronet said it is seeking flexible 10-year gas import contracts to meet the demand, rather than standard 25-year contracts.
Petronet’s 5 million tpa terminal in Kochi in southern India is set to operate at 30 percent capacity by the end of the year, from 20 percent now, as more customers link to its gas pipeline. A pipeline linking the facility to India’s national grid will increase capacity use to 80 percent once completed.
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