The Hindu Business Line : GAIL gets bids from 8 cos

Selection process
GAIL to select firm/consortium through bidding process for chartering service of CNG ship or barge.
To float request for qualification to the parties interested.

New Delhi , March 24

GAIL (India) Ltd has received response from eight national and international firms/consortiums for the expression of interest (EoI) invited by it for transportation of compressed natural gas (CNG) from Myanmar.

The company had recently invited bids for long-term chartering service of CNG ship or barge for transportation of natural gas from A1 Block, Myanmar, to the east coast of India.

A senior GAIL official said that through the international bidding process, the company would now select a firm or consortium for long-term chartering service of CNG ship or barge. The company is now in the process of floating Request for Qualification to the interested parties before tying up for CNG shipping time chartering service, he told Business Line.

Interested companies

EoIs have been submitted by — Consortium of EnerSea Transport LLC from the US, MitSui, K-Line and others; Consortium of TransCanada from Canada and others; Knutsen OAS Shipping AS of Norway; Malaysia International Shipping Corporation (MISC), Malaysia; Forbes Bumi Armada Ltd of Malaysia along with Trans Ocean Gas, BMT Fleet Technology Ltd of Canada, Wilhemsen Marine consultants of Norway and others; Ardeshir B.Cursetjee & Sons Ltd, Mumbai; Marubeni Corporation of Japan along with Sea NG Management Corporation of Canada; and Exmar Marine NV of Belgium.

Enthused by the response, the official said that this has brought the companies' attempts of transporting CNG through marine nearer to reality. CNG marine transportation has an inherent advantage over liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipping for transporting medium volume of gas up to a distance of 1,500 km as it obviates the necessity of capital-intensive investment towards liquefaction plant at source and regassification plant at delivery point.

Being one of the stakeholders in the A1 block, GAIL has carried out a pre-feasibility study to market the natural gas in India from this source through various options including Myanmar-India pipeline.

In the given context of prospective size of the gas field and the distance of 600 km from the field to the east coast of India, the option for transporting CNG by ship will provide flexibility to deliver gas at various coastal locations of India, he added.