TOGY talks to Nayan Pandya, CEO of Cryogas Equipment, about the new LNG terminal at Kakinada Port and growth of the LNG industry in India. Established in 1993, Cryogas provides cryogenic products and services, including the dispensing of LNG, to the oil and gas industry and many other sectors in the country and abroad.
How will you ensure pipeline connectivity to the upcoming LNG terminal?
There is already a 24-inch pipeline available at the KSPL [Kakinada Sea Ports] terminal that provides the connectivity for the gas pipeline. It is only 4.5 kilometres in length. This will allow us to connect to the GAIL pipeline and access to all its existing customers.
We also have in mind a tanker loading terminal. Additionally, we are going to supply LNG by road. A total of 65-75% of Indian terrain does not have pipeline, which is why LNG by road is a really good business decision.
What is your assessment of the attractiveness of the LNG terminal business in India?
On the western coast there are all kinds of energy terminals. There is a terminal in Kochi, in Dahej and one in Hazia. Additionally, there are two or more coming.
On the western coast there’s almost 35 million tpy of regasification capacity. On eastern coast, there’s zero as of now, absolutely nothing. The business patterns are the same, the business houses are the same, the conception requirements are the same, but because of the unavailability of terminals and a huge amount of terminals and a huge amount of pressure on the west coast’s regasification capacity there remains a vacuum.
How does your new LNG terminal compare to other similar projects?
There are three or four terminals on the east coast that are already planned, but that are all FSRUs [floating storage regasification units]. These stand in the middle of the sea, generally three to 10 kilometres away from the shore. They require gas to be pumped through a pipeline. However, in this way you can only reach customers who are on the pipeline. You cannot supply LNG by road.
For our project, the vessel is breathing at the port terminal, and 30% of the volume will go to customers by road. This is very unique.