India’s Hindustan Petroleum, a unit of state-owned ONGC, has received the first cargo of liquefied natural gas at its Chhara LNG import terminal in Gujarat, according to shipping data.
The 2015-built 159,800-cbm, Maran Gas Mystras, arrived at the LNG terminal in the Chhara port on April 11, according to its AIS data provided by VesselsValue.
Maran Gas Mystras previously picked up a cargo of LNG at Marathon Oil’s Punta Europa LNG terminal in Equatorial Guinea, the data shows.
Local media reports suggest that Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) purchased this commissioning LNG cargo for the delayed facility from trader Vitol.
LNG Prime could not verify this by the time this article was published.
The reports also claim that Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) has not yet completed the breakwater for the LNG facility to protect it during the monsoon season, but it should be completed next year.
India’s eighth LNG import facility
HPCL LNG (HPLNG), a unit of HPCL, built the 5 mtpa LNG terminal with all associated facilities for receipt, unloading, storage, regasification of LNG, and gas supply to the grid.
The firm, formerly known as HPCL Shapoorji Energy Private Limited (HSEPL), was incorporated as a 50:50 joint venture between HPCL and SP Ports Private Limited (SPPPL) on October 15, 2013.
However, HPCL purchased the 50 percent stake from SPPPL in March 2021, becoming the sole owner of the LNG import facility.
The LNG terminal features a 1.2 km long jetty capable of receiving carriers with a capacity of 80,000 cbm to 266,000 ccbm, two LNG storage tanks each with a capacity of 200,000 cbm, while GSCP built the connecting pipeline, according to HPLNG.
This is India’s eighth LNG import facility.
At the moment, India imports LNG via seven facilities with a combined capacity of about 47.7 million tonnes per year.
These include Petronet LNG’s Dahej and Kochi terminals, Shell’s Hazira terminal, and the Dabhol LNG, Ennore LNG, Mundra LNG, and Dhamra LNG terminal.