- Harish, Gurgaon

Engaged in the import of natural gas in liquefied form RasGas of Qatar, regasifying the LNG and selling it to users, Petronet has already completed the expansion of its Dahej terminal from 5 mmtpa to over 11 mmtpa and plans to further expanded it to 15 mmtpa by FY13 by de-bottlenecking of the present operations. It is also currently in the process of implementing a new 5mmtpa terminal in Kochi, expected to be commissioned by end-FY12.

Petronet accounts for almost one-fourth of natural gas supply in the country. Going forward, increased domestic gas supplies would not only encourage power, fertilizers and other user industries to shift from costly naphtha or fuel oil to cheaper natural gas but also the demand from automobiles would fuel the growth. Notably, the revenue and earnings growth for the company is directly dependant on gas production.

The company's aggressive expansion plans also augurs well as it coincides with the increasing demand for natural gas in the country. Overall, the prospects appear satisfactory.