By Admin 
Gas Authority of India Limited: Amidst the increasing tension in Western Asia, GAIL (Gas Authority of India LTD.) has purchased a cargo of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from Oman so that the supply can be done properly to meet the increasing natural gas needs in India. This state gas company of India has purchased this cargo through negotiations from a European trader at a fixed price of about $ 17–20 per million British thermal units (mmBtu).
Shipping data from Kpler shows that the chartered ship ‘Orion Hugo’, loaded by Shell, one of the world’s largest gas trading companies, is expected to reach India around March 15. Overall, to deal with the LNG crisis in the country, GAIL has purchased this cargo from European trader Shell. Shell has hired ‘Orion Hugo’. Now this cargo is loaded from Oman and is en route to India. At present it is expected to be in the Arabian Sea.
GAIL’s big deal in times of crisis
India meets almost half of its daily natural gas requirement through imports, about 195 million standard cubic meters per day (mmscmd). Before the recent disruption, India was getting about 60 mmscmd gas from the Middle East. The supply has been affected after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and declaration of force majeure by India’s largest gas supplier Qatar. To manage this shortfall, GAIL hurriedly negotiated the deal with Shell through a European trader.
Let us tell you that there is a huge natural gas plant in Oman by the name of Oman LNG. European company Shell also has a major stake in this. Big gas trading companies like Shell hire hundreds of ships like ‘Orion Hugo’ and go where the gas is needed. In this sequence, when GAIL needed natural gas for the country, Shell’s chartered ship ‘Orion Hugo’ was found ready in Oman and the deal was immediately done.
Keep an eye on GAIL shares
After this news of purchase of gas from Oman, GAIL shares will be in the focus of investors during trading in the market today. For the last few days, GAIL shares were trading near its 52-week low level (Rs 146-147). Now due to this news we may see a rise in the shares. This step taken by GAIL shows how active the company is in times of crisis. Yesterday i.e. on March 11, GAIL shares closed at Rs 147.70 on NSE with a decline of 1.72 percent.
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