Chandbali: In a first, a large cargo ship carrying compressed natural gas (CNG) from Kolkata has anchored at the Adani group-owned Dhamra port here in Bhadrak district, Monday. The ship named ‘Milahi Ras Lafan’ carrying 26 million tonne of natural frozen gas has arrived at the port.
After the arrival of the ship, the port authorities beefed up security arrangements in and around the port along with a ban on cooking in nearby villages for five days. The ship loaded with 1,35,000 cubic metre of gas left Kolkata March 21 and reached at Dhamra port, April 2. The consignment has been booked by the state-owned Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL). The gas after its arrival will be refined by these two companies and re-supplied through gas pipelines to steel and fertiliser plants in the country. The local residents have been asked not to light their stoves or chullahs to cook food as the company has made arrangements to provide cooked food to the people during the period.
The Adani group and a French firm have jointly built a terminal in the port at an expense of Rs 6 crore. The CNG in the ship can be used as fuel in the fertiliser plant and can be converted into natural gas and cooking gas. The Adani group-owned port plans to bring 5 million tonne of gas through this terminal annually and supply them to various establishments in eastern India. The gas terminal will first work on 2.2 million tonne to 2.3 million tonne capacity and later it will be expanded to 5 million tonne