NEW DELHI. Apr 3: After several years of crude oil imports from the Gulf countries, India will enter into a new relationship with the region next month when it firms up a deal for the import of 7.5 million tonnes of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from Qatar.
The deal, which will be India's first large-scale import of gas. is expected to enable India to generate 8.000 MW of power annually for 25 years.
The three-day visit of the Emir of Qatar to India next week, during which the LNG deal would be formalised, will underline the importance Qatar attaches to India as a major market for its gas reserves, the third largest in the world after Iran and Russia.
- Already the Gulf region is the largest source of India's $8 billion worth of crude oil import. But India's growing energy requirements and Virtually stagnating oil and gas production are pushing the country to look to the Gulf for gas.
Projections show that the gas demand in India will rise to 188 million cubic metres per day (Mmcmd) in 2004-05 and 283 Mmcmd in 2009-10. The current availability, at about 68 Mmcmd. falls short of the present demand of about 95 Mmcmd.
A consortium comprising Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas and Mobil LNG & Power Inc. will supply the LNG to Petronet LNG, promoted by Indian public sector enterprises. The LNG will
be shipped to two LNG import terminals which are to be built , by Pptronet at Dahej.in Gujarat
and Kochi in Kerala. ।
Earlier in December, the Dabhol Power Company had concluded an agreement with Oman for 1.7 million tonnes of LNG per annum for its power station coming up at Dabhol in Maharashtra. Enron, the main promoter of the 2,184-MW [lower project, is known to be ooking for more LNG which it also wants to market to other consumers. It has been trying to promote an LNG liquefaction project in Qatar to ship LNG to India. J
The price factor and Qatar’s large reserves have enabled Petronet LNG to tie up supplies with that country as it selected the Ras Gas Mobil from amongst seven bidders. This consideration may also weigh with promoters of other LNG import projects in India.
Total of France, which entered into a joint venture with the Tata Electric Company (TEC) for the LNG import terminal in Maharashtra, has also opened negotiations for LNG supplies from Qatar. Some gas will be consumed by the power station of the TEC itself at Trombay in Maharashtra.
The propensity of the Dak-shin Bharat Energy Consortium (DBEC) to source LNG from Qatar is also well known. The consortium comprising the foreign companies Siemens. CMS. Woodside and Unocal and local partner Grasim, have been
picked up by the authorities in Tamil Nadu for setting up an LNG project at the state's En-nore port along with a major power station to consume part of the gas.
Qatar, Abu Dhabi (United . Arab Emirates - UAE), Iran and Yemen have been identified by a study to be among the possible sources of LNG supply for a major LNG import project on India's eastern coast. The preliminary study submitted to the government last month by a group of experts has envisaged a $5 billion project involving a chain of LNG production facilities abroad, together with shipping and LNG receiving facilities on the eastern coast for seven million tonnes of LNG per annum.
Yemen is the source of LNG supply identified by British Gas for the LNG import terminal it is trying to develop at the Pipa vav port in Gujarat.
Efforts for LNG imports, which will be shipped to India, gathered momentum after the failure of attempts to work out plans to bring natural gas through pipelines from Oman and Iran. Technological problems in laying pipelines in the deep sea to bring gas to the western Indian sea shore remain a big. barrier to the proposed Oman-India pipeline.
Strained relations between India and Pakistan have not allowed the pipeline from Iran to get off the ground. It has to pass through Pakistan-controlled sea waters or land territory.
— India Abroad News Service