GAIL signs pact to buy 1 million tonnes LNG from Vitol Asia

New Delhi, Jul 15 (PTI) State-owned GAIL (India) Ltd has signed a gas sales and purchase agreement (GSPA) to buy 1 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Vitol Asia Pte Ltd for 10 years starting 2026.

The GSPA follows a binding term sheet signed in January 2024, GAIL said in a statement.

"Under the agreement, Vitol will deliver LNG to GAIL from its global LNG portfolio," it said.

Speaking on the occasion, GAIL Director (Marketing) Sanjay Kumar said the company is expanding its long-term LNG portfolio to meet demand growth. "We are pleased to partner with Vitol Asia Pte Ltd, and this agreement represents a key milestone in reinforcing GAIL's capability to reliably serve its diverse and evolving customer base." Jay Ng, Chief Financial Officer, Vitol Asia and Executive Committee member, said the growing Indian market is core to Vitol's strategy and its diversified portfolio enables it to offer India a stable supply of cleaner and competitive energy.

India emerged as the world's fourth-largest LNG importer in 2024, with demand expected to rise steadily over the next decade. The government has set an ambitious target to increase the share of natural gas in the country's primary energy mix from the current 6 per cent to 15 per cent by 2030.

Supporting this vision, India's LNG regasification capacity has seen substantial growth, nearly doubling from 21 million tonnes per annum in 2014.

While GAIL is India's largest natural gas transmission and distribution company, Vitol is a trader in energy and commodities. PTI ANZ DRR