India's First Floating LNG Unit Could be Ordered This Year

Mumbai-based H-Energy expects to place an order for India’s first offshore LNG terminal this year, according to Hindu Businessline, a financial daily.

The company is setting up a 3.5 MMTPA FSRU offshore eastern Indian state state of West Bengal. The tender for offshore FSRU will be announced soon and H-Energy plans to complete the tender process by third quarter of 2016. It has already entered into agreements with suppliers for supply of 1 MMTPA LNG on long term basis which are backed by agreements already executed with downstream buyers. H-Energy will further source around 1 MMTPA of additional LNG volumes on long and medium term basis, as further agreements with downstream customers are executed.

Hindu Businessline disclosed in its report that among prospective buyers is a proposed gas-based power plant at Khulna, in Bangladesh.

Earlier this month, H-Energy Private Limited said it will build eastern India’s first gas pipeline. The bids for Contai–Dattapulia–Jajpur–Dhamra–Cuttack-Paradip natural gas pipeline were opened on May 12, 2016 by the pipeline regulatory authority (PNGRB) where H-Energy emerged as the winning bidder amongst the four technically qualified bidders. The pipeline will span more than 715 kms and will connect important demand centers in eastern Indian states West Bengal and Odisha delivering gas to major industrial consumers such as refineries, petro-chemical units, fertilizer units and power plants. Further, the pipeline will help develop city gas networks in major regions across eastern India such as Kolkata, Khordha, and Cuttack. The pipeline will also deliver re-gasified LNG to customers in western Bangladesh near Dattapulia at India-Bangladesh border.

Meanwhile, the newspaper reported that work on H-Energy’s R-LNG project at JSW’s Jaigarh port in western Indian state of Maharashtra is on schedule. Unlike the one coming in east coast, the FRSU here will be anchored at the port.