India’s LNG terminal receives commissioning cargo

India’s Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), a unit of the state-owned Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), has welcomed the inaugural commissioning liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo at its terminal at Chhara Port in India’s Gujarat state.

The commissioning cargo was delivered onboard the LNG carrier Maran Gas Coronis, which was berthed at the greenfield LNG storage and regasification terminal at Chhara on January 6, 2025. The cargo was transported to onshore LNG tanks six days later, on January 12.

According to HPCL, the terminal, which is expected to enhance India’s energy security and support the national target of increasing the share of natural gas in the energy mix to 15% by 2030, will start commercial operations shortly.

The LNG terminal boasts a 5 million tones per annum (mtpa) capacity, expandable to 10 mtpa. Approximately INR 47.50 billion, or around $0.55 billion, has been invested in the development of the project comprising facilities for receiving LNG through ocean tankers, marine unloading, storage, LNG road tanker loading, regasification, and supply of regasified LNG to the gas grid.

HPCL’s subsidiary HPCL LNG (also known as HPLNG) intends to operate the terminal on a tolling model which is open to third-party users, through long-term capacity booking contracts and master regasification agreements for spot cargoes. HPCL acquired its previous partner’s stake in the terminal in 2021.

Natural gas is stored in two full containment LNG storage tanks located above ground, built by IHI Corporation. With a capacity of 200,000 cubic meters each, the tanks are said to be the largest of its kind in India. A facility for loading LNG into tank trucks for transporting it to small LNG stations is also being constructed at the terminal. 

The unloading facility can cater to LNG carriers with an 80,000 to 266,000 cubic meter capacity. A 1.2-kilometer-long jetty with unloading arms and a pipeline for transporting LNG to storage tanks is being built for this purpose. Furthermore, the terminal’s Phase 2 envisages the construction of an additional jetty.

This comes on the heels of another LNG development in India’s Gujarat state in late December when Nebula Energy’s AG&P signed a heads of agreement (HOA) with India’s Swan Energy Limited (SEL) to form an LNG logistics venture in India and acquired a stake in the 10-mtpa Swan LNG regasification terminal.