(LiveMint)
State-run oil marketing company Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd (HPCL) is planning to build an underground liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) storage facility in Mangaluru, said a top company executive. “We are reviewing the proposal and seriously thinking of setting up a facility. An announcement will be made soon,” said M.K. Surana, chairman and managing director at HPCL.
It may set up the facility with France’s Total SA, or may venture alone, added Surana. The cavern, will be second such facility in India, to be set up at about ₹ 1,000 crore. Total SA and HPCL both have an LPG import facility in Mangaluru. HPCL and Total SA, through their joint venture, South Asia LPG (SALPG), operate a 60,000-tonne capacity underground LPG storage facility in Visakhapatnam, in Andhra Pradesh. The facility was commissioned in 2007 at an investment of ₹ 333 crore. The Mangaluru facility may have a capacity of over 60,000 tonne.
“In LPG sales, HPCL continued to be the second largest marketer in India with sales growth of 8.5%. It also maintained market leadership in non-domestic bulk LPG segment with over 48% market share,” the company said in its annual report.
