Petronet LNG Signs 20-year gas supply deal with Exxon Mobil
11 Aug 2009
Petronet LNG Ltd has signed a multi-billion dollar agreement secure LNG for its Kochi terminal with two Australian subsidiaries of oil giant ExxonMobil from the proposed Gorgon LNG project in Australia.
India's largest liquefied natural gas importer, formalised a May 2009 agreement with ExxonMobil (See: Exxon Mobil, Petronet reach LNG supply deal) to purchase 1.5 million tons of LNG annually, with supplies expected to start from 2014.
The two companies have not revealed the value of the deal but ExxonMobil said that it has the potential to supply an additional 1.3 MT of LNG if Petronet is able to commit additional volumes.
The gas will be delivered to Petronet's new LNG terminal under construction at Kochi in Kerala. The Kochi terminal will have a capacity to import 2.5 million tons of LNG a year and is expected to start operations in 2011.
Luke Musgrave vice president, LNG Australia, Exxon Mobil, said, ''We are pleased to move forward with Petronet LNG on securing LNG sales from the Gorgon Project. This historic agreement is the first long-term sale of LNG from Australia to India."
The US major's Australian subsidiary has a 25-per cent stake in the $ $32 billion Chevron-led Gorgon LNG project on Barrow Island in Western Australia, where Chevron holds 50 per cent and Royal Dutch Shell 25 per cent.