GAIL, Vital Asia sign long-term LNG deal to supply 1 mmt annually to India

The partnership will consolidate demand for natural gas in India over a period of 10 years, beginning in 2026

GAIL (India) Limited and Vital Asia Pte Ltd have officially entered into a long-term deal for the supply of approximately one million metric tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) annually over ten years, starting in 2026, according to a filing made by the company on the exchanges on Friday.

In this partnership, Vital Asia will source LNG from its global portfolio and deliver it to GAIL in India on a national scale.

GAIL's chairman and managing director, Sandeep Kumar Gupta, statement on the partnership read, "This long-term LNG deal with Vital by GAIL will augment its large LNG portfolio and will contribute to bridging India's demand and supply gap of natural gas".

GAIL's marketing director, Sanjay Kumar, also reiterated that this strategic move aligned with GAIL's ongoing negotiations with various LNG suppliers for long-term deals while also consolidating demand for natural gas in India.

Russell Hardy, the CEO of Vital Asia added, "We are pleased to build on the existing relationship between Vital and GAIL and to conclude this long-term LNG supply deal together. India is a significant and growing LNG market and we are excited to bring LNG supply from our global LNG portfolio to meet this rising natural gas demand in India".

GAIL is an Indian natural gas company that specialises in gas trading, transmission, LPG production and transmission, LNG regasification, petrochemicals, city gas, and E&P.

Vital Asia is a prominent player in the energy sector that trades 7.4 million barrels per day of crude oil and products. The company, founded in Rotterdam in 1966, has a global LNG portfolio with long-term supplies from North America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. In 2022, Vital physically delivered approximately 14 Mtpa of LNG.

GAIL India was trading at Rs 162.35 as of 2:20 pm on Friday on the BSE.