Regional LNG: India NTPC may buy LNG from Petronas
Monday, September 27 2004 - 01:53 AM WIB
NTPC immediately needs between 7 to 9 million standard cubic meters per day of LNG to meet the deficit in natural gas supply for its gas-based combined cycle power plants at Anta (Rajasthan), Auraiya (UP), Kawas (Gujarat), Gandhar (Gujarat), Dadri (UP) and Faridabad (Haryana) for a three-year period.
"We are talking to Petronas but nothing has been firmed up as yet," senior company officials was quoted by Sify.com as saying.
Petronas is believed to have offered to deliver LNG on Gujarat coast at $3.35 per million British thermal unit (MMBTU). After deducting $0.80 per MMBTU for shipping the fuel from South-East Asia to Gujarat, the LNG is priced at $2.55 per MMBTU, almost the same price at which Petronet LNG buys LNG from Qatar.
NTPC plans to use Petronet LNG's Dahej import terminal to regasify the LNG, which will be pumped up to the power plants through the Hazira-Bijapur-Jagdishpur pipeline.
"PLL will charge $0.44 per MMBTU for regassifying the LNG NTPC would be importing," the official said.
NTPC chairman and managing director C P Jain refused to comment when asked if his company was close to clinching a deal with Petronas.
Officials, however, said talks with Petronas were in advanced stages while a deal to use Petronet LNG's facilities at Dahaj in Gujarat was almost final.
Petronet LNG has offered a processing capacity of 2.5 million tons per annum from now until March 2005 and a capacity of 1.5 million tons per annum from April, 2005 up to 2007.
Petronet LNG will start full capacity operations only from April 1, 2005 when RasGas of Qatar starts supplying 2.5 million tons per annum of LNG. This year, PLL is importing just 2.5 million tons of LNG from Qatar.
"Until the full capacity operations begin, PLL has offered 2.5 million tons of capacity can be leased to NTPC," officials said. Beyond April 1, 2005, 1.25 to 1.5 million tons of regasification capacity has been offered to NTPC.
Officials said NTPC had also talked to Royal Dutch/Shell, RasGas, Petronet LNG and Yemen LNG for sourcing the LNG but none of them, except Petronas, had spare LNG.
NTPC has already awarded a contract for buying 3 million tons per annum of LNG from late 2007 for its expanded Kawas and Gandhar power projects in Gujarat to Reliance Industries Ltd.
Reliance would sell NTPC 13 million standard cubic meter per day of natural gas from its gigantic field off the Andhra coast, at a delivered price of $2.97 dollars per MMBTU. (*)