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Shell group to acquire stake in GSPL

Royal Dutch/Shell Group is set to acquire a 11 per cent equity stake in state-owned gas pipeline firm, Gujrat State Petronet Ltd (GSPL), the Economic Times said on Monday.

It said that the company will invest $13 million for the acquisition through its wholly-owned subsidiary Shell India.

Shell and India's Essar group have been awarded a contract to build a liquified natural gas (LNG) import and regasification terminal in the western Gujrat province, where GSPL is setting up a 2,500-km transmission network.

The state government will hold 40 per cent of the project and the remaining will be divested among LNG suppliers and bulk consumers.

Gujrat is India's second most industralised state and has plans for four LNG import and regasification terminals. Contracts for these have been awarded to private developers.

Gas majors BG Plc and Gaz de France are also eyeing stakes in the pipeline. BG Plc, along with its partners, is setting up a terminal at Pipavav, about 300 km from Gandhinagar, which is Gujrat's capital.

Petronet LNG Ltd, a consortium of state-run energy firms, will be developing a project at Dahej, 200 km south of Gandhinagar.

National Telecom Ltd plans a terminal at Maroli, located 300 km south of Gandhinagar.

The state government has estimated that the annual gas demand in Gujrat will touch 15 million tonnes by 2010 with power, cement and textile industries being the main buyers.

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