Two Japanese groups bid for GAIL’s LNG tender

India’s gas utility GAIL reportedly received two bids for its tender for hiring nine LNG carrier newbuilds to transport liquefied natural gas from the United States, starting in 2017.

According to a report by the Press Trust of India, two Japanese consortia, one comprising Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line) and Mitsui & Co and the other comprising Mitsubishi Corporation, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha and GasLog, have placed their bids for the tender that closed on March 31.

Under the tender that was delayed several times, GAIL was looking for nine LNG carriers of a cargo capacity of 150,000-180,000 cbm, enabling it to comply with its off-take commitments at Sabine Pass and Cove Point LNG projects from December 2017.

Under the original tender, nine vessels, three of which have to be built by shipyards in India, will have a delivery window from January 1, 2019, to May 31, 2019, for foreign shipyards and July 1, 2022, and ending June 30, 2023, for Indian shipyards.

However, Indian Shipyards, Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering and Cochin Shipyard have agreed deals with South Korea’s DSME and Samsung Heavy Industries, respectively, to cooperate in the construction of the vessels.

Cochin Shipyard was also licenced by France’s GTT to build LNG carriers with the Mark III membrane containment system.

No information was given on the way the two Japanese consortia intend to deal with the “Make in India” clause.

GAIL has not responded to an email sent by LNG World News seeking clarification on the matter by the time this article was published.

LNG World News Staff