Hindustan Petroleum to build new terminal

Shortage of gas in India has prompted Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. to plan on building a terminal on the country’s east coast. The state-run refiner signed an agreement with Shapoorji Pallonji & Co. to build the terminal. The company’s Chairman and Managing Director S. Roy Choudhury said, “We will require 5 million tons [of gas] to run our refineries, but today the gas is not available.” He added that the company has begun investing in pipeline projects that will transport gas. For the past several months, India’s gas output has been falling amidst rising demands and energy companies have begun relying heavily on LNG imports to make up for the shortage. The company operates two refineries and the combined nameplate capacity of both is 14.8 billion tons a year, which accounts for less than a 10th of the total refining capacity of India. It sells about 27 million tons of petroleum products in a year. The company said that by 2017, its refining capacity will reach 42 million tons. (September 23, 2011)