HPCL said that the commissioning of South Asia’s first 60,000 metric tonne capacity liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) underground cavern storage facility had commenced operations with the intake of 39,200 metric tonnes of LPG.
According to HPCL, the cavern has been dug in solid hard rock to store LPG at 162m below sea level. The storage facility is made up of two caverns of 19m height, 20m base width and 160m in length with interconnections. The cavern is jacketed with a water curtain.
The cavern is expected to ease the storage constraints on India’s eastern coast and will enable the oil industry meet the growing demand of LPG in the country.
The company said that large ocean cargoes are expected to bring down freight costs and higher tanker discharge rates would reduce the berth occupancy by LPG vessels at the Visakhapatnam port.
