New Delhi: Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), India’s largest oil retailer, is planning to double the capacity of its Ennore LNG Import, Storage, and Re-gasification Terminal in Tamil Nadu, said the company’s Executive Director (ED) for gas Sandeep Jain on Friday. At an industry event, Jain told reporters that the company is planning to expand the capacity of the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal to 10 Million Metric Tonnes per Year amid growing demand for gas in the country. He, however, did not share more details about the plan.
The current share of gas in India’s energy mix is 6.2 percent. The government aims to push this share to 15 percent by 2030. Jain said that Indian Oil is expecting domestic sale of gas to rise to 20 million metric tonnes per year by 2030. The company currently records sale of 6.3 million metric tonnes per year in the gas segment.
Apart from expanding the Ennore terminal, Indian Oil has also leased capacity in at least two LNG terminals operated by other companies. “India needs to sign more long-term LNG import contracts to ensure price stability. IOC has recently signed two agreements for 14-year LNG import contracts worth US $11 billion,” said Jain.