IndianOil to buy 50% in GSPL-Adani LNG terminal

The board of Indian Oil Corporation (IndianOil) has given its in-principle approval for acquiring up to 50 per cent equity in GSPL LNG terminal in Gujarat for an estimated Rs 750 crore.

GSPL LNG is a joint venture of Gujarat State Petroleum Corp and Adani Enterprises. Adani and GSPC are equal partners in GSPL LNG.

GSPL LNG is setting up a 5 million tonne per annum (mtpa) liquefied natural gas terminal at Mundra Port in Gujarat at an investment of Rs 5,040 crore. While the company did not give the acquisition cost, an official said roughly 30 per cent of the Rs 5,040-crore project cost is equity and IndianOil would pay for half of it. A final figure would be arrived at after the valuation exercise is completed, the official said.

Mundra would be the second LNG project backed by Adani where IndianOil is investing. IndianOil has taken a 39 per cent stake in the proposed 5-mtpa LNG terminal at Dhamra in Odisha. Adani Group has 50 per cent in the project and the remaining 11 per cent is with state-owned gas utility Gail (India).

As the second-largest natural gas player in the country, IndianOil is making significant investments in natural gas infrastructure and marketing in line with the country’s changing energy mix. “We already have investments across the gas value chain, from LNG import terminals to city gas distribution networks, the major among them being a 5-mtpa LNG import terminal at Kamarajar port near Chennai, scheduled for commissioning in 2018-19,” said IndianOil Chairman Sanjiv Singh.

On Friday, the board also gave clearance for the expansion of the company’s Vadodara refinery from the existing 13.7-mtpa to 18-mtpa capacity at an estimated cost of Rs 15,034 crore. The project will help the company meet the growing demand for products in the region.

IndianOil plans to raise the combined capacity of its 11 group refineries from 80.7 mtpa currently to over 100 mtpa in the next five years through brownfield expansions. It is also working on a 60-mtpa integrated refinery-cum-petrochem project on the west coast jointly with other OMCs. “IndianOil is also working to convert its refineries to produce BS-VI quality fuel by April 2020,” a company statement said.

Indian Oil Corporation