Petronet to Lease Out Half of Kochi LNG Terminal

Petronet LNG is looking to lease out one of the two storage tanks at its newly commissioned Kochi LNG import terminal to make the under-utilised facility commercially viable, reports Press Trust of India. The terminal based in Indian state of Kerala was inaugurated in September. 

Since pipelines that would carry gas are not yet ready, the terminal operated at just 5% of its capacity in the Oct-Dec quarter.

"We have two football field sized storage tanks at Kochi. We had commissioned only one of them in absence of consumers," a top company official said, adding, "We can lease out the other one."

Petronet plans to invite bids for leasing one tank within a month, Press Trust quoted the official as saying.

The company currently operates a 10 million tonne a year import terminal at Dahej in Gujarat, which it plans to expand to 15 million tonnes by end 2016. It also plans to build third terminal at Gangavaram in Andhra Pradesh by 2017, adds Press Trust.

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