Indian Oil Corp (IOC) bought a commissioning cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for its new Ennore terminal in south India, in a sign that India’s first terminal in the east coast is readying for start-up, three industry sources said on Monday. State-owned IOC bought a partial LNG cargo for delivery on Feb. 25 from commodities trader Gunvor, the sources said.
It bought the cargo at about $9.50-9.90 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), one of the sources said. The sources declined to comment as they were not authorized to speak with media due to the commercial sensitivity of the matter. A Gunvor spokesman said the company does not comment on trading matters, while an IOC spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.
The 5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) import facility, sited at Kamarajar port in Thiruvallur district at the outskirts of Chennai, is owned by IndianOil LNG, a joint venture of IOC, private equity fund IDFC Alternatives and ICICI Bank, according to IndianOil LNG’s website.
The Ennore terminal, which will be India’s fifth, is expected to spur industrial growth in the area with the re-gasified LNG to be distributed to power generation plants, fertilizer plants and other industrial units, according to the website.
