India’s oil and gas company Petronet LNG has unveiled plans to invest $5.32bn (Rs400bn) in several energy projects, including overseas LNG facilities and gas fields, reported the Press Trust of India (PTI).
Petronet LNG CEO A K Singh said that the investment plan will be implemented over the next four to five years.
Of the total amount, the LNG import terminal operator will allocate $166.4m (Rs12.5bn) to build a propane dehydrogenation plant, as it seeks to enter the petrochemical business.
The plant will be equipped to convert imported feedstock into propylene.
Petronet will allocate $21.3m (Rs1.6bn) to construct a floating LNG import facility at Gopalpur, in the Indian state of Odisha.
Singh told PTI: “We always evaluate good opportunities for overseas investment. If it is beneficial for the country, and if we find it a better option, definitely we will go for it.”
Petronet operates the LNG terminal in Kochi, Kerala, and has also set aside $226m (Rs17bn) to expand the LNG import capacity in the country.
The firm also plans to invest $79.9m (Rs6bn) to expand the capacity of the Dahej LNG import terminal, in the Indian state of Gujarat, from the current 17.5Mtpa to 22.5Mtpa.
The $226m investment also includes $15.9m (Rs1.25bn) for the construction of storage tanks and bays for truck loading of LNG.
Petronet will also build a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU)-based LNG import facility, off the Gopalpur port. It will have a 4Mtpa capacity.
At a later stage, the new FSRU-based LNG facility will be converted into a land-based terminal, with a capacity of more than five million tonnes.
In September 2021, Petronet chose L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering, a subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro (L&T), for Phase IIIB of the Dahej expansion project, in Gujarat.
Petronet LNG (PLL) is a joint venture company promoted by Oil & Natural Gas (ONGC), Indian Oil (IOCL), GAIL (India), and Bharat Petroleum (BPCL).
