NEW DELHI: Royal Dutch Shell on Wednesday said it has acquired French oil major Total SA's 26% stake in the venture for importing gas in ships at Gujarat’s , a move many see as the green shoot of consolidation in the expanding Indian gas market.
The completion of the acquisition, which was first announced in August last year, raises Shell’s ownership in the venture to 100%,” the company said without giving details of the deal size.The Hazira project has an LNG ) terminal with a capacity to handle 5 million tonne of gas per year and an associated port. Hazira LNG operates the LNG regassification terminal and manages the direct-berthing multi-cargo port.
Total’s exit from the Shell venture and its recent tie-up with the Gujarat-based edible oils-to-infrastructure and energy giant Adani group for LNG project and gas/fuel retail business makes the deal with Shell as the first consolidation in the market, sparked by India’ expanding gas market and hopes of pricing reforms.The government is driving hard to raise the share of clean-burning natural gas in the energy basket from 6 to 15% in the next few years by expanding city gas projects and converting public transport in ever-increasing number of cities. Several LNG import projects are currently at varying stages of implementation to meet this demand.With 100% ownership in the Hazira project, Shell hopes to build a gas value chain for Indian consumers by sourcing LNG from its global LNG portfolio at competitive rates, regassifying it at the Hazira facility and marketing it. “It further enables Shell to contribute towards India's long-term need for more and cleaner energy solutions,” the company said.
Total is keen on investing in the fast-growing gas market in India and finds Adani a suitable partner due to its presence in city gas and LNG projects. Adani holds 25% stake in the 5 million a year LNG terminal at Mundra and is building a similar capacity terminal at Dhamra in Odisha at a cost of Rs 5,100 crore.Shell’s Hazira project, constructed 15 years back with a capacity of 2.5 million tonne LNG that was later expanded to 5 million tonne, was India’s single-largest energy FDI at the time for India. Total had, in March 2004 picked up the 26% stake.
Source: timesofindia.com