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Bhubaneswar: Indian Oil Corporation on Monday signed an MoU with state-owned Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation of Odisha for development of a natural gas terminal at an investment of Rs 5,000 crore in the state.
"The natural gas terminal will be set up at Dhamra coast in Odisha's Bhadrak district at an investment of Rs 5,000 crore. The terminal construction work will be completed by 2018," said A K Marchanda, Executive Director (Gas) of Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) after signing the MoU.
Terming the project as a milestone in the state's economic development, Marchanda said the project would ensure distribution of natural gas to domestic users, auto-industries and others. About 150 acre of land is required for the purpose and IOCL has already signed an MoU with the Dhamra Port Company (DPCL), he said.
To start with, the capacity of the terminal would be 5 mmtpa, which could be increased by above 10 mmtpa per annum in future, said Marchanda, adding IOCL and the state government would jointly promote necessary infrastructure in Odisha for distribution of natural gas for industries and city gas distribution.
The state agencies have already assessed the requirement and demand of natural gas and subsequent development of necessary infrastructure so as to make gas reach the demand of the centres, he said.
As IOCL's two pipelines -- from Surat to Paradip and another from Andhra Pradesh to Haldia -- were under construction, the proposed terminal would be helpful for the purpose of delivering natural gas to different cities of the state, he said.
"Such initiative will give a boost to the much-needed energy security of the state through clean and green energy.
This will boost fertiliser, power and petrochemicals as well as downstream industries in metal sector, meet domestic needs and promote utilisation of CNG in transportation sector," said Chief Secretary J K Mohapatra.
The project will create a lot of employment for the people of Odisha, said Industries minister Niranjan Pujari.
