(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Oman is considering buying up to a 20 per cent stake in Petronet LNG's proposed R50bn (RO322mn) LNG import terminal on the eastern coast of India, said H E Mohammed al Rumhi, Minister of Oil and Gas, according to media reports in India on Wednesday.
''We are interested in Petronet. We are looking to invest in one of its projects on the east coast. We have not decided on the stake. It will be small, maybe 10-15-20 per cent,'' he was quoted as saying after delivering Petronet's foundation day lecture in New Delhi.
''We have been in discussions with Petronet for the past two months,'' he added, according to Indian news agency PTI. Petronet, which supplies liquefied natural gas (LNG), is building a 5mn-tonne-a-year LNG terminal at Gangavaram, in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
The minister said the energy-hungry nation also aims to get 1bn ft3 of gas per day from Iran from 2017-18, under a long-term agreement, if the plan materialises, according to the media reports.
Petronet plans to build its first terminal on the east coast through a subsidiary in which it wants to retain a minimum 51 per cent stake. ''Eight per cent stake has already been taken by Gangaravam Port and we are willing to take on strategic partners,'' Petronet director (finance) R K Garg said.
The company received final approval from its board of directors last year to build a third LNG terminal at Gangavaram, the first on the east coast.
In September 2013, Petronet LNG was reported in the media as saying it was in talks with Oman, Qatar and Kuwait to sell a minority stake in the company owned by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
''We welcome any credible player who has experience in the oil and gas business that can add value to the company,'' the company's chief executive A K Balyan was quoted as saying on the sidelines of a meeting of energy ministers in Seoul, South Korea.
ADB started investing in Petronet in 2003. In 2010, it said it planned to sell its 5.2 per cent stake, or 39mn shares, in Petronet.&n
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