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India HPCL scouts for LNG deals, hopes to begin LNG terminal by Dec.

India's Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd is scouting for liquefied natural gas (LNG) import deals as it expects to begin its 5 million heap per year (tpy) LNG terminal in western India by end of this year, its head of finance said on Tuesday.

We will be undertaking commissioning activity in November or December depending upon climate condition ... We are in the market for binding long-lasting gas from global gamers, Rajneesh Narang stated at its June quarter profits call.

The company's previous attempt to commission the Chhara LNG terminal in April stopped working due to the bad weather, he stated.

The state-run refiner is building a breakwater to safeguard the harbor and would consider leasing capability in the LNG terminal to other players after commissioning, he said.

HPCL will satisfy the gas requirements of its two existing refineries and a brand-new 180,000 barrels daily (bpd) refinery and petrochemical job in the desert state of Rajasthan through the Chhara terminal.

Chairman Pushp Kumar Joshi stated HPCL will import crude in March for the commission of the Rajasthan refinery and would develop the connected petrochemical project by September 2025.

HPCL anticipates to improve its gross refining margins by $3 per barrel after the full-scale operations at its 300,000 bpd Vizag refinery, Joshi stated. HPCL wishes to start facilities to boost production of high-value refined items at the Vizag refinery in the December quarter.

The state-run refiner has actually raised the processing of Russian oil to about 35-40% of its total crude intake in the June quarter from about a quarter a year ago, Narang said.

HPCL likewise runs a 190,000 bpd plant in western Maharashtra state. It has a stake in the 226,000 bpd Bathinda refinery in northern India, which is operated by Hindustan-Mittal Energy Ltd, part-owned by LN Mittal.

(source: Reuters)