The state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is planning to establish mini-LNG facilities to facilitate the evacuation of natural gas from wells situated in regions lacking pipeline connectivity.
The company has pinpointed five locations across Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Gujarat for the installation of these mini plants at wellheads. These facilities will convert the extracted gas into liquefied natural gas (LNG) by cooling it to minus 160 degrees Celsius.
The resulting LNG will be loaded onto cryogenic trucks and transported to the nearest pipeline, where it will be converted back into its gaseous form and integrated into the distribution network for supply to consumers, including power generation plants, fertilizer manufacturing units, and city gas distributors.
ONGC has issued a tender inviting manufacturers and service providers to harness stranded natural gas, as outlined in the tender documentation.
The identified sites for the mini-LNG plants include two locations in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh, and one each in Ankleshwar, Gujarat, Bokaro, Jharkhand, and Cambay, Gujarat.
In the tender document, ONGC noted that while India possesses a comprehensive pipeline network linking supply and demand centers, a significant quantity of stranded gas remains untapped, which is essential for boosting domestic supply and addressing the needs of nearby demand centers.
The stranded gas volumes are estimated to range from 5,000 to 50,000 standard cubic meters per day, with the potential for production over a period of up to five years.
The tender solicits bids from manufacturers and service providers to establish a small-scale LNG plant on a BOO (build, own, and operate) basis, capable of producing LNG, transporting it via cascades or tankers to consumption sites within approximately 250 kilometers, re-gasifying the LNG, and subsequently injecting the gas into existing distribution grids or supplying it directly to bulk consumers.
India currently produces over 90 million standard cubic meters of natural gas daily, which is utilized for electricity generation, fertilizer production, conversion to CNG for vehicles, and distribution to households.
