Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to consider whether the pricing of petroleum products should be left to the oil companies alone. He was addressing a meeting organised by Petronet LNG Limited here in which the Prime Minister opened the LNG terminal.
Mr. Chandy termed the opening of the LNG terminal as a momentous occasion, bringing access to one of the cleanest sources of energy. Lack of energy has been a major setback to the industrial sector. With the government encouraging entrepreneurship, the availability of clean energy would be an advantage.
Natural gas could be of use in transport, power, fertiliser and domestic sectors. But there are challenges for utilising the LNG terminal to its optimum capacity. The government would try to remove all bottlenecks to ensure maximum capacity utilisation, he said.
Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily said his ministry would extend all help to demonstrate the efficacy of natural gas for households under the City gas project in Kerala at the earliest. Demonstrations could also be arranged for the transport sector.
LPG subsidyMr. Moily said the subsidy on LPG would remain for the permitted number of cylinders of the consumer. The date for Aadhaar card linkage has been extended in Kerala to facilitate more people to get enrolled.
Vivek Rae, Secretary, Petroleum & Natural Gas, said LNG offered huge potential for industrial development. Shipping sector was also bound to gain. The investment of Rs.4500 crore made by Petronet LNG Limited was one of the biggest in Kerala in recent times, he said. The representatives of two of the bulk consumers - FACT and BPCL Kochin – came live on the screen at the inaugural event, describing the benefits derived by their units from the use of LNG.
