Petronet ties up 1.5-mn-tonnes/year LNG import from Australia

New Delhi, May 8 (PTI) Petronet LNG Ltd, India's largest
liquefied natural gas importer, has tied up 1.5 million tonnes
of fuel imports from the Gorgon project in Australia.

Petronet has concluded term sheets for all agreements for
buying 1.5 million tonnes a year of LNG from Exxon Mobil Corp
for 20 years, beginning 2014, company Managing Director and
CEO Prosad Dasgupta told PTI here.

"The Gas Sales and Purchase Agreement (GSPA) will be
signed before June 30," he said.

Petronet will import the LNG at its under-construction
Kochi terminal in Kerala.

Exxon has further said it can sell another 1.3 million
tonnes of LNG to Petronet but the Indian buyer has not yet
committed to additional volumes as it has not tied-up
consumers for that.

"Right now we have firm commitment from buyers of 1.5
million tonnes of LNG," Dasgupta said, adding NTPC's
Kayamkulam power plant was supposed to be a major consumer of
the imported gas at Kochi but has not yet committed to taking
any volumes.

Petronet and Exxon issued a joint statement saying they
have reached agreement on supply of Gorgon LNG to Kochi but
refused to divulge details like price.

US energy major Chevron Corp is the operator of the
Gorgon project with a 50 per cent stake while Exxon Mobil and
Royal Dutch/Shell hold 25 per cent each.

The Gorgon Project plans to develop the Greater Gorgon
gas fields, located between 130 km and 200 km off the
north-west coast of Western Australia. The Greater Gorgon gas
fields contain resources of about 40 trillion cubic feet of
gas, Australia's largest-known gas resource.

"The agreement will provide for ExxonMobil's subsidiaries
Mobil Australia Resources Co Pty Ltd and Mobil Exploration and
Producing Australia Pty Ltd to supply approximately 1.5
million tonnes annually of LNG with the potential for
additional supply, for a 20-year term," the statement said.

Dasgupta said: "Petronet LNG looks forward to finalising
the agreements and moving forward with the LNG infrastructure
needed to supply natural gas consumers in the Kerala region."

ExxonMobil's Luke Musgrave, Vice President LNG-Australia,
said: "We are pleased to move forward with Petronet LNG on
securing LNG sales from the Gorgon Project." PTI