LNG

July 18 (LNGJ) - Indian Oil Corp., the country’s main oil refiner and importer and the owner of the LNG import terminal at Ennore in Kamarajar Port in the East Coast state of Tamil Nadu, has signed separate long-term supply agreements with France’s TotalEnergies and a unit of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) for a combined 2 million tonnes per annum of deliveries.

   TotalEnergies will supply 800,000 tonnes a year to state-owned Indian Oil for 10 years while the ADNOC subsidiary, Abu Dhabi Gas Liquefaction, will deliver 1.2 MPTA to the Indian refiner under a long-term deal starting in 2026.

Indian Oil Corp. (IOC), the country’s main oil refiner and importer and the owner of the nation's only East Coast LNG import terminal at Ennore, posted a 16 percent increase in net profits even as margins were tight in the petrochemicals industry and losses were made on partly subsidized fuels.

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.

Qatargas has supplied a liquefied natural gas commissioning cargo for India’s newest receiving terminal at Mundra in the northwest of Gujarat state.

The latest completed LNG import in the West Coast of India, the Mundra LNG terminal in the state of Gujarat, is expected to receive its first cargo in the weeks ahead after being mechanically completed about a year ago and now issuing a tender.

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 Oil Corp., owner of the only liquefied natural gas import terminal on the East Coast of India at Kamarajar Port in Tamil Nadu, has signed an accord with ExxonMobil to cooperate on spreading the reach of natural gas availability in the country.

Indian liquefied natural gas terminal developer H-Energy and Kakinada Seaports signed an agreement for an LNG regasification and reloading terminal to be sited at Kakinada port in Andhra Pradesh, which would be only the second such facility on the East Coast of India.

Kakinada Seaports controls the concession for the Kakinada Deep Water Port under an agreement with the government of Andhra Pradesh.

“H-Energy shall develop an LNG hub at the Kakinada Port catering to the needs of domestic customers in the state of Andhra Pradesh and shall supply LNG through small LNG vessels to H-energy’s proposed Kukrahati LNG terminal in the state of West Bengal and neighboring countries like Bangladesh and Myanmar,” explained H-Energy.

Darshan Hiranandani, Chief Executive of H-Energy, said the company was excited to partner with Kakinada Seaports for this East Coast project.

“We believe that Kakinada with its existing breakwater and deep draft combined with its close proximity to various natural gas pipelines makes this an efficient and successful project for our customers, our partners, and ourselves,” said the CEO.

“The PSA along with its associated agreements envisages a long-term association between the two organizations contributing towards India’s growth story, especially, the vision of the Government to promote a gas-based clean economy," he added.

Depending on the timing, the Kakinada terminal could be only the second on the East Coast of India after the start-up in March 2019 of the first facility at Kamarajar Port in Tamil Nadu.

The Kamarajar terminal is owned by Indian Oil Corp., the refining and fuel marketing company, and has 5 MTPA of import capacity and two tanks each with storage of 180,000 cubic metres.

The Hiranandani group also has plans to deploy a floating storage and regasification import project at Jaigarh port, south of Mumbai, by the end of 2019.

The H-Energy subsidiary will operate the Jaigarh terminal with annual capacity of 4 MTPA of LNG and with re-loading capabilities.

H-Energy has explained that the FSRU charter to H-Energy is for a period of five years and the ship will arrive at the LNG jetty at Jaigarh just before the start-up.

Most of the onshore infrastructure work has almost been completed by Engineers India Ltd, a project construction company.

H-Energy said the West Coast facility would be of great benefit to Maharashtra state in western India by providing clean fuel for transportation and for city-gas use.

When operational, the regasified LNG will be supplied to customers through the pipeline connected to national gas grids at the city of Dabhol.

The facility would be the fifth LNG import terminal located near Mumbai, with three of them located at Hazira, Dahej and Dabhol for use by importers Shell, Petronet LNG and Gas Authority of India respectively.

A fourth is mechanically completed at Mundra. It is owned by Gujarat State Petroleum and the Adani Group, though has yet to be fully commissioned.

H-Energy also recently signed a cooperation accord with Russian company Novatek, operator of the Yamal LNG plant in Siberia and developer of the Arctic LNG II project.

Novatek said the memorandum of understanding envisaged cooperation in LNG supplies to India on a long-term basis, joint investment in future LNG terminals of H-Energy and in Russian LNG projects.

The Hiranandani conglomerate and Novatek said they also planned to establish a joint venture to market LNG and natural gas to end-customers in India, Bangladesh and other markets.

The Indian Hiranandani Group with plans to deploy a floating storage and regasification unit within months for LNG imports at Jaigarh port, south of Mumbai, has signed a cooperation accord with Russian company Novatek, operator of the Yamal LNG plant in Siberia and developer of the Arctic LNG II project.

Novatek said the memorandum of understanding envisaged cooperation in LNG supplies to India on a long-term basis, joint investment in future Indian LNG terminals planned by Hiranandani and in Russian LNG projects.

The family-controlled Hiranandani conglomerate and Novatek said they also planned to establish a joint venture to market LNG and natural gas to end-customers in India, Bangladesh and other markets.

The Indian company’s FSRU is expected to start commercial operations at Jaigarh port in the fourth quarter of 2019, a year behind schedule.

Chief Executive Darshan Hiranandani said recently the Indian project was on track and in addition to the FSRU includes related infrastructure and a pipeline of 60 kilometres.

“India is one of the largest and fastest growing LNG markets, and will be one of the main sources of future growth in global demand for natural gas,” said Novatek Chairman Leonid Mikhelson after the accord was signed with Hiranandani at an economic forum in the Russian Far East city of Vladivostok.

“It is an important step towards entering the end-customer market in India, which is of great interest to Novatek taking into account our strategic plans to implement new LNG projects and significantly increase our LNG production volumes,” added Mikhelson.

The Hiranandani Group's H-Energy subsidiary will operate the Jaigarh terminal with annual capacity of 4 million tonnes per annum of LNG and with re-loading capabilities.

Hiranandani is one of the largest Indian companies with its main offices in Mumbai and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

While it started as a property investment business it has broadened its interests into other areas such as energy and power.

H-Energy CEO Darshan Hiranandani said he was “excited” to partner with Novatek in Arctic LNG II and to participate in and bring supplies to downstream customers in India and Bangladesh.

“This will be through its terminals in Jaigarh, Kakinada and Haldia and through its two pipelines, Jaigarh to Mangalore and Kannai-Chatta to Shrirampur. This will  ensure a safe, reliable and economic supply chain from the gas fields to the burner tip,” explained Darshan Hiranandani.

The Indian FSRU charter to H-Energy is for a period of five years and the ship will arrive at the LNG jetty at Jaigarh just before the start-up.

Most of the onshore infrastructure work has almost been completed by Engineers India Ltd (EIL), a project construction company.

H-Energy said the West Coast facility would be of great benefit to Maharashtra state by providing clean fuel for transportation and for city-gas use.

“The LNG terminal will offer storage, regasification, re-loading, bunkering and truck-loading facilities to cater to the growing energy demand of Indian industries,” said the company.

When operational, the regasified LNG will be supplied to customers through the pipeline connected to national gas grids at the city of Dabhol.

The facility would be the fifth LNG import terminal located near Mumbai, with three of them located at Hazira, Dahej and Dabhol for use by importers Shell, Petronet LNG and Gas Authority of India respectively.

A fourth is mechanically completed at Mundra. It is owned by Gujarat State Petroleum and the Adani Group, though has yet to be fully commissioned.

However, there is only one LNG terminal for the whole East Coast of India with about half-a-dozen others planned.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first East Coast facility in March 2019 at Kamarajar Port in Tamil Nadu.

The Kamarajar facility is owned by Indian Oil Corp., the refining and fuel marketing company, and has 5 MTPA of import capacity and two tanks each with storage of 180,000 cubic metres.

Novatek also signed an LNG fuel transport agreement in Vladivostok with Petronet LNG, operator of the Dahej terminal north of Mumbai and the Kochi terminal in the southwest state of Kerala.

The Novatek-Petronet accord is on future LNG projects and the joint marketing of LNG as motor fuel in India, including joint investment in developing a network of filling stations and a fleet of LNG-fueled trucks.