Adani’s Dhamra LNG terminal (5 mtpa) is nearing its start with the LNGC Milaha Ras Laffan en route with the terminal’s first discharge cargo.
Qatar Shipping-owned LNGC Milaha Ras Laffan (138.2 kcbm) is currently in the Bay of Bengal after loading from Ras Laffan on 21 March 2023. The vessel is signalling India’s Dhamra as the destination with an ETA of 5-6 April. The cargo will mark the first discharge for India’s seventh LNG terminal and only the second on the country’s eastern coast.
The Dhamra LNG terminal (5 mtpa) with two storage tanks of 180 kcbm each is located in Orissa on the east coast of India and is jointly owned by the Adani Group and TotalEnergies. The expected start-up for the terminal was mid-2021, which was revised to mid- 2022 due to Covid regulations, and then to 2023 due to delays with associated pipeline construction.
The Dhamra LNG terminal project was proposed in May 2015, with India’s GAIL and IOCL signing an MoU with Adani Group to reserve regasification capacity in the terminal. The project cost reported in 2017 was $930 million. Initially, IOCL and GAIL were to have a 39% and 11% share respectively in the terminal, which later expired in 2018, leaving the Adani Group as the sole owner. In 2019, TotalEnergies acquired a 50% stake in the project, and the Adani group retained their original 50%.
Instead, IOCL and GAIL signed a take-or-pay contract with the Adani group in 2018 for 3.0 mtpa and 1.5 mtpa regasification capacity respectively for 20 years.
When operational, the terminal will increase India’s regasification capacity to 47 mtpa. The Dhamra terminal is expected to regasify 2.2 million tonnes of LNG in FY24 (ending March 2024), backed by IOCL securing a tender for eight LNG cargoes in March 2023 for delivery between June 2023 and May 2024.
The terminal, with an initial 5 mtpa capacity, can be further expanded to 10-12 mtpa and will benefit local industries and city gas distribution (CGD) networks in the country. The terminal can cater to LNGCs with capacities ranging between 70 kcbm and 265 kcbm and will offer breakbulk services, allowing the terminal to supply LNG to neighbouring countries, such as Bangladesh and Myanmar.
The distance between Ras Laffan and Dahej is around 1,477 NM, while the distance between Ras Laffan and Dhamra is about 3,497 NM. Regarding shipping demand, cargo shipped from Qatar to the Dhamra terminal will generate 140% higher tonne-mile demand compared with that shipped between Qatar and Dahej.
For instance: Hypothetically, an LNGC carrying 67,500 tonnes of LNG from Qatar to Dahej will generate 99.7 million tonne-miles while the same vessel will create 236 million tonne-mile demand when shipping an LNG cargo from Qatar to Dhamra. Thus, operations in the Dhamra port will boost the shipping business slightly, augmenting extra tonne-mile demand in the shipping sector.
Source: Drewry