Delayed India LNG Import Terminal Poised to Receive First Cargo
The start of the Mundra terminal, with a capacity of 5 million tons a year, could bolster imports.
(Bloomberg) -- The Mundra liquefied natural gas import terminal in India is poised to start up more than a year after it was inaugurated.
Gujarat State Petroleum Corp., one of the owners, bought a cargo to be delivered Jan. 15-24 to the facility in western India, according to traders with knowledge of the deal.
The shipment would be the first since the plant’s inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2018. At least one cargo had been arranged for the terminal’s commissioning late that year, but was never delivered.
Commercial disputes between GSPC and its partner, Adani Group, have delayed the start up of the project, Press Trust of India reported last week, citing sources it didn’t identify. GSPC said on its website that Mundra is complete and will be commissioned in early 2020.
GSPC Managing Director Sanjeev Kumar said by phone Monday that the terminal will be commissioned “shortly,” without providing further details. A spokesman for Adani Group wasn’t immediately able to comment.
While the start of the Mundra terminal, with a capacity of 5 million tons a year, could bolster imports, India continues to face infrastructure bottlenecks that have hampered demand growth. Usage is likely to accelerate after 2030 once large transmission pipelines from receiving terminals are commissioned and distribution networks are complete, BloombergNEF said in a report last month.
To contact the reporter on this story: Stephen Stapczynski in Singapore at sstapczynsk1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ramsey Al-Rikabi at ralrikabi@bloomberg.net, Jasmine Ng
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