Supermajor BP has said that the project is on schedule to come into operation by 2007.

The upbeat news came as industry sources continued to claim that the Kakinada project had been delayed by at least four years as the scheme's partners had failed to sign a vital gas sales deal with the Andhra Pradesh state government.

A consortium made up of the Indian Oil Corp-oration, Malaysia state-owned company Petronas and BP plan to construct a $4.16