HPCL announced on Wednesday that it has signed an LNG supply and trading agreement with Adnoc Trading.
According to HPCL, the LNG supplies will be received at the recently commissioned Chhara LNG terminal to “meet captive demand of HPCL and also for marketing to other downstream customers.”
HPCL did not reveal the duration of the agreement or the volumes.
This deal is the first LNG supply agreement between the two firms.
HPCL said it marks a “significant step” in the strategic partnership between the two organizations.
The Indian firm also said the deal “underscores the deepening economic ties between India and the UAE, emphasizing the role of LNG in supporting India’s energy transition.”
Chhara LNG
The Chhara LNG terminal is India’s eighth LNG import facility.
In February, the unit of state-owned ONGC launched commercial operations at its Chhara LNG import terminal.
LNG Prime reported on January 9, citing shipping data, that the delayed Chhara LNG terminal received the commissioning cargo onboard the 2007-built LNG carrier Maran Gas Coronis, owned by a joint venture of Greece’s Maran Gas and Qatar’s Nakilat.
Maran Gas Coronis previously loaded the shipment at the Petronas-operated giant Bintulu LNG complex in Sarawak, Malaysia.
HPCL said on January 13 that Maran Gas Coronis berthed on January 6 and the cargo discharge into the onshore LNG tanks was completed on January 12.
According to HPCL, the LNG terminal has been set up at an investment of 47.5 billion Indian rupees ($560 million) at Chhara Port in Gir-Somnath District in Gujarat.
The LNG terminal features a 1.2 km long jetty capable of receiving carriers with a capacity of 80,000 cbm to 266,000 cbm, and two LNG storage tanks each with a capacity of 200,000 cbm,
It also has facilities for truck loading, regasification, and supply of regasified LNG to the gas grid.
Gujarat State Petronet Limited (GSPL) recently also launched a natural gas pipeline connecting the Chhara LNG import terminal to the grid.
HPSCL said its unit HPCL LNG would operate the terminal on a “tolling” model and is open to third-party users, through long-term capacity booking contracts and/or through master regasification agreement for spot cargoes.
Adnoc’s LNG expansion
Adnoc currently owns a 70 percent stake in Adnoc LNG, which currently produces about 6 mtpa of LNG from its facilities on Das Island.
In addition, Adnoc announced the final investment decision on its Ruwais project and the EPC award to the joint venture led by Technip Energies in June last year.
The LNG project will more than double Adnoc’s existing UAE LNG production capacity to around 15 mtpa, as the company builds its international LNG portfolio.
BP, Mitsui, Shell, and TotalEnergies agreed to buy a 10 percent equity stake in Adnoc’s LNG export terminal.
To date, up to 8 mtpa of the Ruwais LNG project’s 9.6 mtpa production capacity has been committed to international buyers across Asia and Europe through long-term arrangements, according to Adnoc.
