Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) plans to start operations at the five million tpa Chhara LNG import terminal in Gujarat in the next couple of months and has already got offers from various entities to hire import capacity.

HPCL built the facility at Chhara in Gir-Somnath district of Gujarat to receive natural gas in cryogenic ships. At the terminal, the liquid gas will again be turned into gaseous state before being piped to industries for use as feedstock. The pipeline connecting to the gas grid is expected to be ready soon. 

HPCL was initially looking to lease capacity of three million tpa to other companies for a period of more than 10 years. The LNG terminal is part of the gas infrastructure being developed to increase the share of natural gas in India's energy mix to 15 percent by 2030 from about six percent.

In terms of infrastructure, the firm plans to double the EV charging stations to 5,000 in the next two years. It will add 1,000 petrol pumps every year to its network of about 21,500 stations.