Bid to convert LNG tankers into floating storage in India

A group of shipping companies is thinking about turning two liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers into floating storage unites to help meet India’s growing fuel demand, according to Bloomberg citing people familiar with the matter.

The group, known as India LNG Transport Co., may utilise the ships on the country’s east coast following their retrofitting in South Korea, according to unnamed sources.

With a capacity of 138,000 cubic metres apiece, Petronet LNG Ltd. presently imports LNG from Qatar; however, the company has no intention of extending the lease past 2028.

The state-owned Shipping Corp of India Ltd. and the Japanese companies Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd., Nippon Yusen KK, and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. have joined forces to create India LNG Transport. Requests for comments were not immediately answered by the companies.

India, which is presently the fourth-largest LNG buyer in the world, is making significant investments in import infrastructure in order to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal of having gas amount to 15 per cent of the energy mix by 2030 against the current 7per cent.

According to Petronet CEO Akshay Kumar Singh, imports could reach 150 million tonnes by 2030, a seven-fold increase from 2023. Singh made this announcement in February.