Shapoorji Pallonji plans deepwater port in Gujarat

SINGAPORE: Shapoorji Pallonji Co Ltd plans to set up an integrated deepwater port, LNG import terminal and a power plant at the coastal area of Gujarat, a senior company official said today.

"It will be a deepwater port, along with a major liquefied natural gas importing terminal and a 2,000-MW power generating plant," the company's head of finance, Jimmy Parakh said.

He was speaking after the launch of the group's first Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel here.

The LNG plant would be a joint venture with Hindustan Petroleum, he said without giving further details.

Meanwhile, Shapoorji Pallonji has partnered Malaysia's Bumi Armada to construct a FPSO for deployment in ONGC's D1 field at the West Coast, 200 km off Mumbai.

The FPSO, Armada Sterling, will have a joint investment of over USD 360 million.

FPSO is designed to produce 50,000 barrels of oil per day and has storage capacity of 750,000 barrels as well as accommodation for a crew of 70 persons.

Commenting during the ceremony, Shapoorji Pallonji Managing Director Shapoor Mistry said the FPSO is a major step towards ensuring self-sufficiency in the strategically critical area of oil and gas exploration in India.

Armada Sterling has been chartered by ONGC for seven years with scope for further extensions.