Gail India Ltd. is looking to buy a stake in a US liquefied natural gas export facility amid a broader global effort to secure supplies to meet growing demand for the fuel.
The company expressed its interest in acquiring up to 26% equity in an existing LNG plant or a proposed facility that will be operational by 2027, according to a document posted on its website. US LNG project developers can submit a bid to Gail.
Gail is also interested in getting 1 million tonnes of LNG per year from the facility for 15 years starting in 2026, according to the document. The company already has long-term contracts for the supply of two US LNG export plants.
The move comes as competition for the fuel is expected to be fierce for years. Meanwhile, New Delhi is trying to increase its LNG import capacity to increase the share of natural gas in its mix to 15 percent by 2030 from 6 percent now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told a conference in beginning of this month.
A Gail spokesman said the expression of interest would help secure LNG supplies.
Gail is also in talks with Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. and Russia’s Novatek PJSC for long-term LNG deals, Chairman Sandeep Kumar Gupta said at the same conference.
The company is under pressure to find new suppliers after the war in Ukraine disrupted some deliveries. Before the invasion, Gail was receiving Russian LNG through a long-term contract with an international unit of Gazprom PJSC. However, those deliveries were halted last year after Germany seized the Gazprom unit and Moscow blocked further supplies in response.
