Japan's MOL signs LNGC charter with India's Gail
Japanese shipping company MOL and Indian state-owned gas marketing firm Gail have signed a time charter contract for a new building LNG carrier (LNGC) and joint ownership of an existing LNG carrier, they said on December 21 in a joint statement.
The new building vessel will be the second MOL LNG carrier serving Gail; the parties signed a contract for the first vessel in 2019. The naming ceremony for the carrier was held in February 2021. The ship was built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and is managed by MOL LNG Transport Asia.
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The existing vessel still has been chartered to Gail from 2021. At this time, MOL and Gail reached an agreement to share the vessel by transferring a portion of a wholly owned MOL subsidiary's shares to Gail, the companies said.
Gail holds a portfolio of about 14mn metric tons/year of LNG from various long and short-term contracts. In addition to its main supplier, Qatar, Gail also has long-term contracts with Gazprom and ExxonMobil (Gorgon LNG). The company also two US LNG contracts: one is with Cheniere and one with Dominion. Both are indexed to the most liquid US gas hub, the Henry Hub.
MOL said it will strengthen its presence and business base in India, where energy demand is expected to increase.