[India] Dhamra LNG Terminal

[escveritas]

SINGAPORE, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Adani Total Private Ltd will receive its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo at the Dhamra terminal on India's east coast in April and expects to start commercial operations 30 to 45 days after receiving the shipment, the Adani Group told Reuters.

The start-up of the 5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) LNG import terminal, delayed from September 2021, is crucial to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plan to boost natural gas use in the country's energy mix to 15% from about 6% currently.

The Adani Group's first LNG import terminal will boost gas use in India's east, where the Dhamra project is only the second import terminal. The country's five other import terminals are on its western coast.

Adani Total, in which French energy giant TotalEnergies SE (TTEF.PA), opens new tab has a 50% stake, said the Dhamra terminal expected safety checks and testing to be completed in February, adding that all key regulatory approvals have been achieved.

"The port infrastructure at Dhamra is ready to receive LNG cargoes at the Terminal per the contractual specifications," an Adani Group spokeswoman said in an emailed response to questions late on Thursday.

India's imports fell for a second consecutive year in 2022 after rising for seven years, data from analytics firm Kpler showed, with its appetite curbed by high prices due to Europe's scramble for gas to replace supply from Russia.

However in January, as Asian LNG prices cooled, imports rose for the first time in eight months, government data showed. Officials expect expanded local gas distribution to drive LNG demand in the coming years.

Adani Total expects to receive 2.2 million tonnes of LNG at Dhamra in the year to March 2024, the company's chief executive told Reuters this month.
It has a 20-year take-or-pay contract to provide regasification services to state-run Indian Oil Corp (IOC.NS), opens new tab for 3 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG and 1.5 mtpa for government-run gas distributor GAIL (India) Ltd (GAIL.NS)

[escveritas]

Features of Dhamra Terminal

• Terminal Capacity 6.5 mtpa (peak capacity)/5 mtpa (nominal capacity), expandable to 10 mtpa

• Nature of Port All weather port

• Storage Tanks 2 X 180,000 m3 each

• Regasification type and capacity Shell & Tube Vaporisers (STV) using ambient air

• Jetty Compatible for vessels ranging from 40,000 m3 to 265,000 m3

• Unloading and Evacuation 3 unloading arms and 1 vapour return arm

• Break bulk and Small Scale Terminal designed for truck loading and re-loading facilities

• Power System 3 Gas Engine Generators ( 9.65 MW each)

• Pipeline connectivity Connected to Jagdishpur-Haldia-Bokaro-Dhamra Pipeline (JHBDPL)

The Regas Process

Operations at the terminal can be divided into five major parts:

• Vessel unloading

After the vessel is anchored at the jetty head, LNG is offloaded using 3 unloading arms located at the harbour. LNG is received at extremely low/cryogenic temperatures (-160°C). The LNG passes through the cryogenic pipelines that joins the arm to the tanks.

• Storage

Tanks are designed for storing LNG at the temperature received - -160°C. These are double walled insulated tanks. The outer walls are made of reinforced concrete to attain a high level of insulation to minimize LNG boil off. Despite such high insulation, minor evaporation still takes place because of heat leakage. Boil-off Gas (BOG) and Minimum send out (MSO) Compressors are used to manage the gas generated from the heat leakage.

• Recondensing

Located between the LNG in-tank pumps and LNG High Pressure (HP) Pumps, is the Recondenser, serving the purpose of handling BOG at low pressures which otherwise would have required expensive re-liquefaction and high-pressure compression. It feeds recondensed boil-off gas (BOG) to the regasification unit in addition to a stream of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Further, it also serves the purpose of a suction vessel for LNG HP pumps.

The equipment consists of stainless-steel packing bed wherein LNG is dispersed to create a direct & co-current contact with Boil Off Gas, followed by its condensation and reincorporation into the LNG. The recondenser has been also provided with a flow ratio controller, to handle the ratio of BOG to LNG flow for stable operation of the equipment. The recondenser along with BOG handling system are designed for a send out of up to 10 mtpa from the terminal.

• Regasification

Regas Process

This process involves converting Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) to Natural Gas (gaseous). Heat exchanger/STVs are used to regasify the LNG. In this system aqueous Glycol solution (GW) is used as heat exchange medium.

• Distribution

After regasification, natural gas is metered & distributed through the pipeline transmission system.


Pipeline Connectivity