Royal Dutch Shell on Wednesday said it has completed the acquisition of French oil major Total SA's 26 percent stake in the company that operates 5 million tonnes per annum-Hazira LNG terminal in Gujarat.
"This brings Shell's equity interest in the venture to 100 percent," the company said in a statement.
It, however, did not reveal the deal size.
Shell had in August 2018 announced plans to buy Total's stake in Hazira LNG and Port venture which comprises of two companies - Hazira LNG that operates an LNG regasification terminal in Gujarat and Hazira Port, which manages a direct berthing multi-cargo port at Hazira.
"Shell Gas B.V., a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc, announced today (Wednesday) that it has completed acquisition of 26 percent equity interest in the Hazira LNG and Port venture in India from Total Gaz Electricité Holdings France (Total)," the statement said.
The move allows Shell to build an integrated gas value chain -- supply from its global LNG portfolio, regasification at the Hazira facility, and downstream customer sales.
"It further enables Shell to contribute towards India's long-term need for more and cleaner energy solutions," it said.
Shell said that in 2017 it set up Shell Energy India to aggregate demand from downstream customers and secure competitive international supply to meet such demand.
"Having commercial and operational flexibility over Hazira will further enable Shell to offer better customer value propositions and build a pan-India gas business," the statement said.
"15 years ago, Shell invested in the Hazira project – the single largest foreign direct investment for India in the energy sector at the time. I am very proud that as a 100 percent shareholder, we will now be able to utilise this great infrastructure asset to its full potential and help provide much needed gas to serve the growing energy needs of India," said Ajay Shah, Vice President Shell Energy Asia.
Total had, in March 2004, picked up 26 percent stake in the 2.5 million tonnes a year-Hazira liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in Gujarat. The terminal capacity was later doubled to 5 million tonnes.
Hazira LNG terminal was commissioned in 2005 and expanded to 5 million tonnes in 2013.
Shell held the remaining 74 percent stake in Hazira LNG.
When the deal was announced in August 2018, Total had said that it has signed an agreement to sell 0.5 million tonne LNG per year to Shell over five years, on a delivery basis to supply the markets of India and neighbouring countries. The deliveries will be sourced from Total's global LNG portfolio and are expected to begin in 2019.
"This deal enables Total to capture value through an asset disposal, while the LNG sales contract allows us to maintain the balance of our LNG portfolio," Philippe Sauquet, President Gas, Renewables and Power had said then. "We remain committed to supply the Indian subcontinent, which is a key market experiencing strong growth in LNG demand."
Besides LNG, shell sells lubricants in India and also owns a few petrol pumps in five states – Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Maharashtra and Gujarat.
Through its subsidiary, BG Exploration and Production India Ltd, Shell holds a 30 percent interest in, and is joint operator of the Panna-Mukta oil and gas fields.
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