Petronet signs deal with US firm for LNG imports

New Delhi: Petronet LNG has announced an agreement with Houston-based United LNG to import 4 million tonnes of gas a year for 20 years. “If everything goes well, the first cargo should come in 2018,” said R.K. Garg, Director (Finance) of the country’s biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer.

The gas would be imported from Main Pass Energy Hub in the Gulf of Mexico. The $14-billion LNG project is jointly developed by United LNG and Freeport McMoRan Energy, which is yet to be commissioned.

Approvals
One of the conditions associated with the deal is the approval of the US Department of Energy (DoE) to export gas to countries, as the US does not have a free trade agreement (FTA) with India.

“In January, the Main Pass facility received approval from DoE to export gas to nations having an FTA with the US. Approval for sale to non-FTA nations is still pending,” said Deepak Pareek, analyst at Prabhudas Lilladher.

Garg said the project with which Petronet signed the agreement is in queue to seek an approval for exporting to India.

Buying Equity
According to industry watchers, Petronet is also keen to pick up equity stake in United LNG’s liquefaction facilities.

“We keep on discussing such proposals. Nothing has been finalised on this yet,” Garg said.

Main Pass Energy Hub is expected to begin construction of its first vessel this year. First LNG export from the said facility would commence in 2017. The project has taken an approval to export up to 24 million tonnes of gas every year.

Gas Price
Petronet did not comment on the expected gas price to be sourced from the project. Industry watchers are expecting the price to be similar to GAIL’s agreement with Cheniere.

Under the agreement, GAIL will pay for gas on a Henry Hub (which decides futures gas price at the New York Mercantile Exchange) basis. The landed price in India will be higher.

Trinidad may offer India access to more LNG

Kolkata: The Prime Minister of the Trinidad and Tobago, Ms Kamla Persad-Bissessar, on Tuesday said that her country is keen to attract Indian fashion, entertainment, education, agriculture-technology and maritime industries. Though she did not make any direct commitment, she indicated Trinidad and Tobago may “offer” India access to the much needed LNG (liquefied natural gas).

Talking to select journalists over dinner in Kolkata, Ms Bissessar, the Indian origin, first woman Prime Minister of the republic of 13 million people, said that the Caribbean nation has policies in place, to offer India (or any other nation of its choice) more LNG.

The meeting was organised by the Global Organisation for People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) in collaboration with Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Trinidad and Tobago owns majority stake in the oil and gas fields. India's LNG imports from the country have come down in the recent years. Though Ms Bissessar did not confirm if Indian imports from the Caribbean should witness an improvement, she was clear that she would explore possibilities.

Reiterating her interest in strengthening economic social bonding with world's largest democracy, the Prime Minister said that her country is keen to project itself as a “location” for Bollywood films. “We are looking at Bollywood to come to Trinidad and Tobago in a big way.”

Also high on the priority list is attracting high profile Indian fashion designers to Trinidad. “I have met some reputed fashion designers from India and they promised to participate in the fashion week in October 2012,” she said.

Ms Bissessar was in the city to pay tribute to “The Kolkata Memorial” — created on January 11 last year at Kidderpore dock in the city, in memory of the Indian labourers taken to far away lands by the Britishers from 1834 through the 1920s. She also visited her ancestral village in Buxur district in Bihar.