Japanese

MOL and GAIL Sign Charter Contract for one LNG Carrier

June 20, 2019

TOKYO-Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President: Junichiro Ikeda) today announced that, through a wholly owned subsidiary of MOL, a short-term charter agreement for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier has been signed with GAIL (India) Limited (Head Office: New Delhi, India).

GAIL is the largest natural gas Company of India with approx. 11,400 Km of cross country existing trunk pipeline network and another 4,000 Km pipelines in advance stage of completion. GAIL is ranked no. 1 gas pipeline company in India and among the top gas utilities in Asia. The company business activities range from Gas Transmission and Marketing to Processing (for fractionating LPG, Propane, SBP Solvent and Pentane); transmission of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG); production and marketing of Petrochemicals like HDPE and LLDPE. The company has extended its presence in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) re-gasification, City Gas Distribution and Exploration & Production through equity and joint venture participations. Of late, GAIL also diversified into solar and wind power generation. GAIL currently holds a LNG / RLNG portfolio of about 14 MTPA from various long and short-term contracts. The company is also committed to LNG trading globally. The consolidated turnover of GAIL for FY 2018-19 is about USD 11 billion with a net income of about USD 900 million.

It is expected that demand for gas will be increasing continuously in India, registering significant economic growth. MOL has been participating in Indian market since the beginning of LNG import into the country, with the distinction of having brought the first gas from Qatar. MOL is currently participating in not only transportation of LNG but also the projects in India of floating LNG receiving terminal and Ethane transportation by the first Very Large Ethane Carrier (VLEC) in the world.

The present Agreement has been concluded in line with the direction, which MOL declared in the Management Plan "Rolling Plan 2019", to strategically allocate management resources to businesses where MOL has strengths.

MOL will, in response to increasing demands for energy transportation, continue its effort to provide a stable sea transportation services with high safety standards, which the company is known for.