Significant milestone reached for India’s natural gas ambitions

by Oct 30, 2020Energy & Environment0 comments

Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass), an international ship classification society, has classed India’s first LNG-FSRU (Floating Storage Regasification Unit) for “Triumph Offshore”, marking a milestone in India’s energy shift towards natural gas.

Constructed at Hyundai Shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea, the 180,000 cu.m FSRU which is flagged in India, is designed for continuous operations without the need for drydocking over a period of 20 years. The unit is assigned class notation for 20 years extended interval between successive dry-dockings and complies with the requirements of IRClass Rules and Indian Flag for this purpose. The unit is owned by Triumph Offshore Pvt Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Swan Energy Ltd, an India-based listed company.

The vessel can operate in two distinct modes – LNG Carrier Mode and Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) mode. This allows the utilisation of a FSRU for receiving LNG from LNG carriers, regasification of the LNG and sending it out.

The vessel complies with the recently updated Rules of IRClass applicable for LNG carriers provided with regasification systems and takes into account various risks associated with such systems by appropriate risk control measures. The updated IRClass Main Rules for Seagoing ships, covers the requirements for regasification systems in a separate chapter addressing various aspects such as systems design, fire safety, emergency shutdown arrangements, survey and testing requirements etc. The vessel has also been verified with respect to the requirements of the IGC Code and IRClass Rules for Gas carriers.

With strong government support and improved infrastructure in India, the prospects for natural gas are expected to rise significantly to meet growing energy demands in the country. This is also in line with the Indian government vision to build a gas-based economy and increase the share of natural gas in the primary energy mix to 15% by 2030, up from 6% today. This will also contribute towards IMO’s aim of reducing GHG emissions.

“As we anticipate energy demand to soar in India, it is important to move towards the use of clean energy to meet that need. Undertaking this project demonstrates our commitment towards a greener future, and we at IRClass are delighted to play an essential role in meeting that goal.” Commented IRClass’ Joint Managing Director Vijay Arora.”

Swan Energy Ltd. entered the green energy sector in 2008 to what it says tap the positive growth tailwind in the Indian energy sector with an innovative Re-gasification Project – LNG FSRU unit, the first of kind in India at Jafrabad in Gujarat with a total capacity of 5 MMTPA. Based on an unique concept, a first of its kind in India, the FSRU project scores over traditional onshore ones in terms of cost competitiveness, lower gestation period and environmental benefits.

Given the huge demand-supply gap in the natural gas sector, the FSRU unit provides significant upside to the Company’s growth.

The Indian gas market is projected to be one of the fastest growing in the world over the next two decades: the IEA forecasts gas demand to increase at 5.4% per annum over 2007-30 reaching 132 billion cubic meters by 2030.

India is the 4th largest Energy consumer after US, China & Russia.

Natural gas currently contributes 8% of total energy consumption and is projected to grow up to 20% by 2030 in India.

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