Petronet moves abroad to set up LNG terminal

Petronet LNG, the importer and marketer of natural gas is mulling to set up a LNG import terminal in Bangladesh at Rs 5000 crores. The terminal will be set at Kutubdia Islands seeing the rising demand from neighbouring countries for power generation.

Kutubdia Islands have a natural harbour with good draft and natural breakwater, which is fertile for LNG. It is besides Bangladesh’s current set up at Matar Bari in Moheshkhali Island of Cox's Bazar district or Anwara, Chittagong.

Petroleum Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan in a visit to Dhaka had proposed to set up 5 million tonnes capacity terminal at regulatory levels to reach the unmet demand from nearby areas. Bangladesh is under energy fulfilment crisis. It had one Sangu-11 offshore gas well, which got shut down.

Petronet LNG has been chosen as one of the firms to set up a terminal of 3.5MT at Bangladesh. Others include Anglo-Dutch super-major Shell, China's Huanqiu Contracting & Engineering, Tractebel Engineering of Belgium and Japan's Mitsui.

It is going to be easier for this biggest exporter to buy from the international markets and supply it to buyers around the Kutubdia. The company will seek some guarantors to cover their huge investment at this terminal.

Apart from Bangladesh terminal, Petronet has also proposed to set up 1 MT LNG terminal in Sri Lanka to meet the domestic demand.