LNG

Equinor, the Norwegian major that is now the leading pipeline natural gas supplier to Europe, has just signed a 15-year agreement to deliver LNG cargoes to India with shipments starting in 2026.

Equinor’s growing global LNG portfolio is based on output from the Equinor-operated Hammerfest liquefaction plant on Melkøya island in northern Norway and additional cargoes booked mainly from the US.

Equinor said that the new Indian partner, Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corporation Limited (DFPCL), would use the regasified LNG mainly as feedstock for production of ammonia in its newly commissioned plant for manufacturing fertilisers and petrochemicals.

The Equinor-Deepak agreement covers an annual supply of around 650,000 tonnes per annum of LNG for 15 years starting from 2026.

Equinor said that it was delighted with the Deepak agreement as ammonia was a “key building block for the society, being crucial for agriculture and food security” in the Asian nation.

“The ammonia which Deepak will produce from the natural gas will be for domestic use,” added Equinor.

New plant

The Deepak fertilisers facility is located at Taloja in the West Coast state of Maharashtra.

“Deepak’s new ammonia plant has created new gas demand in the growing Indian market,” explained Helge Haugane, Equinor’s Senior Vice President for Gas and Power.

“I am very happy that we have landed this agreement with Deepak Fertilisers. The agreement is another proof of how we use our position in the Atlantic Basin to strengthen our relationship with key players in the growing Indian market,” he added.

“We look forward to developing our relationship with Deepak and to exploring avenues for further collaboration on petrochemicals feedstocks such as propane and ethane and on low-carbon ammonia in the future,” stated Hauge.

Sailesh C. Mehta, Chairman and Managing Director, of DFPCL, said he was delighted with the Norwegian LNG deal.

“The agreement will provide reliable supplies of feedstock which will further strengthen Deepak Fertilisers’ value-chain from gas to ammonia, the key ingredient in fertilisers,” Mehta explained.

“The agreement will help us absorb global volatility as well as enhance overall margins,” he added.

“We also look forward to exploring with Equinor further collaboration on feedstock and carbon footprint reduction initiatives,” stated Mehta.

Petronet LNG, the largest Indian cargo importer, reported a surge in revenues and a decline in net profits as it planned a terminal expansion and the construction of a new facility on the East Coast.

L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering (LTHE) of India, a wholly owned subsidiary of global construction group Larsen & Toubro, has won a contract from the largest Indian LNG importer Petronet to further expand the nation’s biggest regasification facility at Dahej.

Petronet LNG, the largest Indian importer and owner of two regasification terminals on the West Coast, has named Indian Oil Corp. director of pipelines Akshay Kumar Singh as its new Chief Executive as the nation expands its LNG and natural gas pipeline infrastructure.

Indian liquefied natural gas imports jumped by more than 67 percent last month to 40 cargoes as import capacity gradually increases to handle the shipments, mainly from Qatar, Australia, the US and Africa.

Chart Industries, the US liquefied natural gas and industrial gases equipment supplier with a widening international presence in Europe and Asia, has authorized the repurchase of up to $75 million of its common stock over the next 12 months. 

Under the stock repurchase program, Chart may purchase shares of its common stock through various means, including open market transactions, block purchases and privately negotiated transactions in accordance with  federal securities laws.

“This stock buyback program reflects our confidence in our business going forward, and we believe our shares are an attractive investment opportunity,” said Chart’s Chief Executive Jill Evanko.

“Our strong cash flow simultaneously enables us to return value to shareholders, pay down debt, and deploy capital for productivity and growth opportunities,” explained the CEO.

Analysts say that companies usually buy back their shares because management considers them undervalued. 

The company buys shares directly from the market or can offer its shareholders the option of tendering their shares.

A share buyback reduces the number of outstanding shares, which can increase both the demand for the shares and the price.

Chart said that the timing and amount of any repurchases under this program will be determined by Chart’s management at its discretion based on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, trading volume and market price.

The company, whose headquarters are in the suburbs of Atlantic in Georgia, was been building its business in North America during the LNG plant buildout as well as in Europe with trucking fuel equipment and in Asia with proposed joint ventures.

Chart signed a letter of cooperation in February 2020 with ExxonMobil India LNG Ltd, an affiliate of the US  major, and Indian Oil Corp. to focus on delivering LNG by Indian roads, railroads and waterways to spread gas use in the absence of physical pipelines.

The accord upgrades a previous Memorandum of Understanding between Chart in Indian Oil to promote the development of the LNG market in India.

It stated that the companies would focus on modular liquefaction, regasification applications, LNG bunkering, fueling stations and alternative LNG mobile transportation including ISO containers.  

Chart said the new Letter of Cooperation expanded the reach and potential scale within a significantly growing country that has committed to clean energy options.

Chart Industries, the US liquefied natural gas and industrial gases equipment supplier, has signed a letter of cooperation with ExxonMobil India LNG Ltd, an affiliate of the US  major, and Indian Oil Corp. to focus on delivering LNG by Indian roads, railroads and waterways to spread gas use in the absence of physical pipelines.

The Indian government will consider a proposal this month to spin off the natural gas pipeline business owned by state-run Gas Authority of India to give more momentum to the expansion of a city-gas network and connections to existing and planned LNG import terminals.

Indian liquefied natural gas imports rose for a sixth month in the current fiscal year as volumes steadily increase from Qatar and the Atlantic Basin countries such as Nigeria and Angola.