IndianOil is set to commission the ₹1,236-crore LPG import terminal at Puthuvypeen near Kochi shortly.
Sanjib Kumar Behera, Chief General Manager and Kerala State Head, said over 95 per cent of the work of the terminal has been completed and currently dredging works are in progress for the 1.2 mtpa (million tonne per annum) capacity multi-utility liquid terminal (MULT). The project is intended to fulfill the entire LPG demand of Kerala.
The work on the LPG terminal was envisaged in 2008. However, residents of the area protested and the work was delayed and began in 2018. With the commissioning of the LPG terminal, Kerala will end its dependence on the road for the movement of fuel from Mangaluru to the bottling plants in different parts of the State.
According to Behera, the active customer base of Indane LPG in Kerala is about 47.75 lakh out of the total LPG customer base of 94.89 lakh in the State, which is approximately 50.32 per cent of the total LPG connections. The company has a bottling capacity of 420 ttpa (thousand tonnes per annum) across its three LPG bottling plants located in Kochi, Kollam and Kozhikode.
Other initiatives
Kerala has the highest sales of Chhotu, a small, 5-kg gas cylinder introduced by IndianOil on all-India basis, with highest market share of 70.53 per cent. Around 24 per cent of the country’s 5 kg cylinder sales is contributed by the State. He cited migrant workers population and the spread of IndianOil outlets as the reasons for growing demand for Chhotu cylinders.
The company has also pioneered the usage of LPG as fuel in fishing boats in place of kerosene and issued LPG conversion kits with 19 kg Liquid off Take (LOT) valves to the fishermen. This project could be the stepping stone towards a blue revolution in Kerala, Behera added.
Elaborating on the retail operations, Behera said IndianOil in Kerala and Lakshadweep is the market leader with highest share of 45.76 per cent in petrol, 48.74 per cent in diesel and 50.48 per cent in domestic LPG business. About 12 percent ethanol blending with petrol has been achieved by the company . It is now working towards the target of 20 per cent ethanol blended petrol in line with the government mandate.