Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Nov 12: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Bengaluru and Mysuru on Friday and participate in various programmes, inaugurating projects worth Rs 15,600 crore. Among the projects is India's largest underground Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) storage cavern in Mangaluru, built at a cost of Rs 850 crore with a storage capacity of 80,000 metric tonnes. PM Modi will virtually inaugurate the LPG storage cavern in Mangaluru.
The country's largest underground LPG storage facility has been constructed at Bala in Mangaluru. Developed by Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited (MEIL) for Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), the facility marks a significant step towards strengthening India's petroleum reserves.
This is India's second underground LPG storage cavern and is expected to enhance energy security and ensure an uninterrupted supply of clean energy.
The underground LPG storage facility can store six lakh barrels, equivalent to 60 million litres of liquefied petroleum. It has been designed with two separate underground chambers to accommodate 40,000 MT of propane and 60,000 MT of butane.
Constructed at a cost of Rs 854 crore, the project has successfully cleared all tests. On June 6, Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited announced the successful completion of the project. Following the completion of all tests, the company released a detailed video of the facility on October 31.
The underground cavern has been designed with an elaborate tunnel network. It features a 1,083-metre access tunnel, upper and lower water curtains measuring 578.2 metres and 804.31 metres respectively, and connecting tunnels spanning 486.2 metres.
The two main storage caverns, S1 and S2, are located at depths of 220 metres and 225 metres respectively, while the vertical shaft extends to 164.1 metres.
Construction work on the project began in 2019. A large rock formation was excavated nearly 500 metres below ground level to create the underground tunnels.
The LPG storage cavern in Mangaluru is expected to help meet India's growing demand for clean fuel and strengthen the country's ability to withstand disruptions in energy supplies.
Mangaluru already has two underground oil storage facilities – one at Permude with a capacity of 1.5 lac metric tonnes and another at Padur with a capacity of 2.5 lac metric tonnes.
The LPG storage facility constructed at Visakhapatnam has a capacity of 60,000 tonnes. With a stated capacity of 80,000 metric tonnes, the Mangaluru facility is the largest underground LPG storage cavern of its kind in the country.