Hazira operations not for sale: Shell

Royal Dutch/Shell, the world's third largest oil and gas firm, today said its $600 million Hazira liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in Gujarat was fully operational, and the company had no plans to sell it off.

"Hazira is not shutting down. It is operational. The plant is up and running," Marc Den Hartog, India director for gas and power of Shell, said today.

He said the 2.5 million tonne Hazira LNG import and regasification terminal and port were fully operational. "The LNG terminal is and remains a viable investment for Shell. While we are open to welcoming equity participation based on value addition, we are not interested in a sell out."

"Shell is a long term investor. We are here to stay. We are not selling off Hazira," he said, adding the company was open to taking more equity partners but Hazira would remain a Shell-owned and operated project.

Shell, which began operating India's second LNG terminal in April 2005, has till now imported only three cargoes of LNG as it was unable to find customers willing to pay the market price of $8-9 per million british thermal unit (MBTU). The market price was roughly double the cost at which Petronet LNG was selling regasified LNG  from its Dahej terminal in Gujarat.

"Finding customers at market price is a problem even though some industries in the north are paying $13-14 per MBTU for naphtha," Hartog said.