On 18 February in Visakhapatnam, the foundation stone was laid for what is believed to be South-East Asia’s first underground liquid petroleum gas (LPG) storage cavern. South Asia LPG Company Pvt Ltd, a 50:50 joint venture between the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd and French firm Total SA, is carrying out the Vizag cavern project to help meet the growing demand for LPG in the southern Indian states. Up to 60,000 tonnes of LPG would be stored in the 24m high cavern, at a depth of 162m below ground level. The LPG can then be stored to develop a buffer stock to take advantage of seasonal price fluctuations.
