Asia Times: Shell plans to source LNG for sale in India: “Royal Dutch/Shell is planning to source liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Oman, Qatar, Malaysia and Australia for sale in India from the first quarter of 2005. (ShellNews.net) 23 Nov 04

NEW DELHI - Royal Dutch/Shell is planning to source liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Oman, Qatar, Malaysia and Australia for sale in India from the first quarter of 2005.

"Our port at Hazira [in Gujarat] is ready and we would be beginning commissioning work of the LNG facilities from December. These will take a few weeks to a couple of months. We hope to begin commercial sales of regassified LNG from end of first quarter of 2005," Shell India gas and power director Marc den Hartog said on the sidelines of a conference here.

Shell plans to import natural gas in liquefied form in ships at Hazira port and sell it after regasifying it to power, fertilizer and other industrial customers.

Unlike conventional LNG projects, Shell will not have a firm LNG supply source for Hazira but will redirect to India surplus cargoes from liquefaction projects it and its partner Total of France has in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Total, which has a 26% stake in the 2.5 million tonnes per annum Hazira LNG project, has equity in a liquefaction plant in Qatar and Shell and Total are stakeholders in a plant in Oman. Shell has equity in Malaysia and Australia.

Abu Dhabi and Indonesia are also potential LNG suppliers.

"All these projects have surplus LNG and we can import LNG for Hazira from these," he said.

Hazira is being designed to handle 5 million tonnes per annum of LNG. Initial deliveries will be half that amount with capacity being expanded to 10 million tpa (third party access) in the future.

"Contracts for the sale of regasified LNG are now being matured and we intend to secure the first Hazira customers shortly," Hartog said.

(Asia Pulse/PTI)

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