Oman is in talks with India to buy a stake in Petronet’s LNG terminal at India’s east coast
Mohammed bin Hamad Al Rumhy, Oman’s oil minister, said, “ We have not decided on the stake. It will be a small stake, about 10 per cent to 15 per cent.”
He added that the two sides had been engaged in talks for the last two months.
Petronet, India’s largest importer of LNG, is currently building an LNG terminal with an annual capacity of 14mn cubic metres at Gangavaram, which is expected to be ready by 2016, in the proposed Indian state of Seemandhra.
The stake could be bought through an investment or pension fund, the minister said.
Indian state-run companies Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum and GAIL hold a 12.5 per cent stake each in Petronet. French power company GDF Suez owns 10 per cent and the Asian Development Bank another 5.2 per cent. The rest is held by public, insurance companies and mutual funds.
According to a WSJ report, Petronet would also benefit from the deal as it would get steady supplies to meet rising gas demand from Indian refiners, petrochemical and power projects. The industries in the country are currently running their plants below capacity due to a shortfall in local natural gas output, the report added.
