Unocal Bharat Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Unocal Corporation, has made a presentation before the Karnataka government to this effect. It is learnt that senior company officials have discussed the cost advantages of LNG as a fuel for power projects compared to other available sources.Incidentally, Unocal is participating in a consortium to develop LNG/power project promoted by Tidco at Ennore in Tamil Nadu. The company is also picking up a 19 per cent equity stake in the LNG venture in which Siemens and Birlas are consortium partners, among others.

The company is looking at supplying gas to KPC Bidadi Power Corporation Ltd (KBPCL) which is setting up a 200 mw power project in Bidadi near the Bangalore city. However, KBPCL has a long-term arrangement with Bharat PetroleumCorporation for supply of 0.50 million tonnes of naphtha.

``Since this is a naphtha-based combined-cycle power project with an option to convert into LNG as a fuel at a later stage, we are planning to supply LNG to the Bidadi venture in the future,'' Unocal Corporation executive vice president Charles R Williamson told The Financial Express

.Unocal Bharat vice president Neeraj Nityanand said the company was also looking at picking up a 25 per cent equity in an existing power project in the South. ``Though we have identified a couple of power projects in this area, the company is yet to discuss the issue with them,'' he added.

Unocal Corp and Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd signed the shareholders agreement for the 200mw KPC Bidadi Power Corporation coming up near Bangalore on Tuesday. Once it comes through, it would be the company's second such investment in power sector in India. Unocal has already acquired a 25 per cent stake in KPC Bidadi Power Corporation and signed a shareholders' agreementon Monday in the presence of KPCL managing director K Jairaj.

In this context, the company's focus would be to enter into alliances with equity participation with leading power companies in the South. ``Unocal is not aiming a controlling stake and the main focus will be to run the power projects effectively,'' Nityanand said.

According to Williamson, the company was active in developing resources in the country. For instance, Unocal had picked up a 26 per cent stake in Hindustan Oil Exploration Company Ltd (HOEC), while reaching agreement with HOEC to acquire an equity in an exploration block in Assam.

Unocal is expecting to be an active participant in the exploration opportunities offered under the New Exploration Licensing Policy. Unocal is also conducting studies and evaluating the exploration potential of the country's deepwater basins.

Unocal is bidding for the 600-650 mw Bawana phase II power projects near New Delhi. The company also has a tie-up with Paharpur Cooling Towers Ltd of Calcutta forimplementing its `project energy renaissance' project which involves LNG pipelines, 1500 mw combined-cycle power venture and 2,350 tpd fertiliser plant.

Apart from this, Unocal is participating in a consortium to develop a 1,886 mw power plant at Ennore. However, the company officials declined to quantify its investments in the country and its fund raising programmes for the purpose.