Enhanced Energy Security: Dabhol LNG Operates Through Monsoon

GAIL (India) is set to operate its Dabhol LNG terminal in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, year-round for the first time, including during the monsoon season. This milestone comes after the successful completion of a breakwater facility, which now allows the terminal—previously shut from May 25 for about four months annually due to rough seas—to remain operational during high-tide conditions.

With this infrastructure upgrade, the five million tonne per year terminal is capable of receiving LNG cargoes throughout the year. “Our breakwater has been completed. We have applied for all-weather terminal status with the authorities and hope to get authorisation in a week's time. So we will schedule LNG cargoes accordingly,” said GAIL Chairman Sandeep Kumar Gupta. The breakwater significantly enhances the terminal’s reliability and operational flexibility by allowing safe ship access even during adverse weather.

GAIL also plans to expand the terminal’s capacity in phases—first to 6.3 million tonnes per year by mid-2027, and then to 12.5 million tonnes annually by 2031–32.

News by Rahul Yelligetti.