A Guide to Liquefied Natural Gas and Various LNG Terminals In India

LNG, or liquefied natural gas, is another form of natural gas converted into a liquid through cooling it to -260° Fahrenheit. This process is specifically intended to decrease the volume of the natural gas by a factor of more than 600, to further make is easier to transport effectively through sea. Once it reaches its destination, LNG is unloaded from ships at various import LNG terminals in India (we will discuss them later in this post), where it is stored as a liquid. This liquefied natural gas is then warmed back to its natural gaseous state to pass it through pipelines in order to distribute it further to the businesses and homeowners.

When in its gaseous state, LNG is used across residential, commercial and industrial sectors for the purpose of heating, cooking and generating electricity and manufacturing other wide range of products. It is also used as a fuel to run heavy-duty and other vehicles. Besides these advantages, several other uses of natural gas are known to date. A few of them are discussed below -

1. Natural gas is typically used to fuel stoves, clothes dryers, water heaters, and other household applications. Schools, hospitals, restaurants, stores and other commercial buildings count on natural gas for space- heating, air conditioning, cooking, water-heating, dehumidification and on-site power generation.
2. Natural gas is a dominant fuel for the manufacturing of paper, chemicals, metal, stone, glass, clay, clothing and other food processing industries. It is also used as an elementary raw material for a number of common products such as plastics, fertilizer, paints, dyes, antifreeze, medicines and photographic film.
3. A large number of vehicles are entirely dependent on LNG due to its ability to reduce the gaseous emissions by 30-40 percent and saving a lot on the maintenance of the vehicle.

Liquefied Natural Gas Terminals are specifically used to store natural gas in its liquefied form. These terminals, more precisely "structures", may comprise of anything such as ships, special tanks, or building structures. In brief, LNG terminals act as ports to import and export liquefied natural gas. In India, there are primarily four LNG terminals, that are situated in different parts of the country.

• RGPPL LNG Terminal, Maharashtra
• Dahej Terminal, Petronet LNG Ltd., Gujarat
• Hazira Terminal, Shell Ltd, Gujarat
• Petronet LNG, Kochi

All of the import and export related to LNG take place at these terminals or ports. Interestingly, most of these terminals have the capacity to store and distribute several million tonnes per annum, accounting for a large transit of LNG dependent on them.

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