Indian group eyes LNG slot

Gail India Ltd wants to tie up with InterOil on second gas project

 

By YEHIURA HRIEHWAZI in Brisbane

 

INDIA’s state-owned oil and gas company Gail India Ltd is considering joining InterOil Corp to develop the second LNG plant in PNG, The National reports.

InterOil office in Port Moresby yesterday confirmed that the company is in discussions with Gail.

“Yes, InterOil is in talks with Gail, but we do not comment on discussions until any transaction is complete,” spokesman on behalf of CEO and chairman Phil Mulacek said.

Gail’s chairman and managing director BC Tripathi made the announcement during a sideline press conference where a regional gas conference is in progress this week.

It received wide coverage by local media including the Calcutta Daily Telegraph and major financial websites like Bloomberg and Dow Jones.

He said Gail was planning to invest in gas infrastructure globally and is looking at projects in Papua New Guinea, Nigeria, Ghana and Egypt.

“We are examining the possibility of having a stake in the Papua New Guinea LNG terminal,” Tripathi told reporters.

The state-owned firm is talking to Canadian firm InterOil Corp to buy a stake in its proposed liquefied natural gas project (LNG) in Papua New Guinea.

“In Nigeria, we, along with partners Total and Shell have been shortlisted as one of the companies to develop the Nigeria gas master plan worth about US$7 billion (K`19.4 billion),” he said.

Nigeria is estimated to hold 184 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves, most of which remain unexplored.

The short-listed companies would be invited to build three major gas gathering plants and pipelines that would supply fuel to power firms.

Tripathi said: “In Ghana, we are talking. Once gas production starts, we will process the gas and transport it to the desired location.”

The firm has a presence in city gas distribution projects in Egypt and China.

“We are also exploring the possibility of expanding our city gas operations in Egypt,” Tripathi said.