Mangaluru, June 18 (PTI) India’s largest underground liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) storage facility, situated in Mangaluru, cleared Cavern Acceptance Test (CAT), confirming its structural integrity and readiness for operations, said officials.
The process was nearly a month long, and was held between May 9 and June 6, said sources from Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd, which developed the storage facility under the guidance of the central government.
The cavern, located 500 metres below ground in solid rock, has a capacity of 80,000 metric tonne, added the sources.
According to them, the storage facility is designed to bolster India’s energy resilience, particularly during supply disruptions and emergencies.
Incidentally, this is the third underground hydrocarbon storage facility in the region. Mangaluru already hosts crude oil caverns at Permude (1.5 lakh metric tonne) and Padur (2.5 lakh metric tonne).
However, this is the first in the area dedicated exclusively to LPG, surpassing the 60,000-tonne capacity of a similar facility in Visakhapatnam, added the sources.
Approved in 2018, construction of the Rs 800-crore project commenced in 2019, they added.
The facility is supported by a newly constructed pipeline network linked to a floating jetty off the coast, allowing for seamless import and transfer of LPG, said the company officials.
According to them, the cavern is expected to significantly enhance India’s LPG storage capacity and secure uninterrupted supply across the region.