According to a report in India’s Business Standard newspaper, state-owned Petronet LNG has almost concluded an agreement to import 2.5 million tonnes per annum (MMtpa) of LNG over a 25-year period starting mid-2010.
“We have concluded most of the agreements ... A formal agreement can be signed as early as March-end,” Indian Petroleum Secretary M S Srinivasan was quoted as saying.
But a Chevron spokesperson has told Reuters that his company, which has already pre-sold most of its Gorgon gas, was not the seller. The spokesperson said each partner was handling negotiations for sales of its share of Gorgon gas separately.
The remaining stakeholders, ExxonMobil and Shell each with 25%, have declined to comment as to whether either of them are involved in the deal.
This is not the first time an LNG supply deal has been flagged between Gorgon and Petronet. Mid last year, PetroleumNews.net published several reports that quoted Srinivasan as saying the two parties were close to formalising arrangements.
Petronet, a company promoted by Indian petroleum companies Oil and Natural Gas, Indian Oil, GAIL (India) and Bharat Petroleum, would import LNG from Gorgon to its Kochi terminal in Kerala, which is under construction.
In October 2005, Chevron sealed Gorgon’s first cornerstone deal, after signing a heads of agreement with Tokyo Gas to export 1.2MMtpa into Japan.
The project involves building two trains capable of producing a total of 10MMtpa of LNG. About three shipments a week are expected to leave a dedicated LNG loading jetty.
