Novatek Forms LNG Ties with India's Petronet

Russia’s largest LNG exporter Novatek has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with India’s largest LNG importer Petronet on gas market co-operation.

The preliminary deal, signed at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, could see the pair working together to supply Novatek’s LNG to the Indian market, the Russian firm said in a press release on September 4. Petronet may also invest in Novatek’s future LNG export projects. In addition, the two could jointly market LNG as a motor fuel in India, including by investing in gas filling station networks and a fleet of LNG-fuelled trucks.

“India’s rapid economic growth requires increasing demand for all sources of energy and, primarily, for natural gas as the most environmentally friendly type of fuel,” Novatek chairman Leonid Mikhelson said.

Novatek is developing a raft of new LNG export projects in the Arctic, with the aim of producing 70mn mt/yr of liquefied gas from the region by 2030. Petronet operates two LNG terminals in India with a combined regasification capability of 22.5mn mt/yr, and has plans to construct a third 5mn mt/yr plant.

As part of efforts to make inroads into the Indian gas market, Novatek has also signed an initial agreement on long-term LNG supplies with H-Energy Global, which is developing two more import terminals in the country.