India’s GSPC seeks spot LNG cargo

India’s oil and gas company Gujarat State Petroleum Corp. (GSPC) is seeking a single cargo for delivery in H2 August, ICIS understands. Two trading sources familiar with the issue said that the company has indicated either Dahej or Hazira as the delivery port. The company has supplied at least three sellers with a firm bid of $7.80/MMBtu for the cargo on Friday last week, indicating the bid was valid until end of Monday. The company was in the market for this requirement for at least one month with initial price expectation in the low-$7.00s/MMBtu. The requirement has not been filled, ICIS understands, and the company has raised its initial bid by $0.60/MMBtu. The market has tightened substantially in the course of last two weeks on the back of multiple tenders held in Egypt, Pakistan, Jordan and Argentina. The competing buyers are offering in excess of $8.00/MMBtu for roughly the same delivery period, but with attendant implications of credit risk and tougher performance guarantee terms. GSPC is seen as relatively more flexible buyer that does not substantially rely on tender processes for its procurement.

In a related development, Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) is seeking a cargo for delivery in September as part of its larger efforts to secure short-term volumes. One seller said that IOC is not interested in a short-term structured agreement, instead is seeking cargoes on case by case basis. The seller said that it was bidding in high $7.00s/MMBtu for September cargo. Roman.kazmin@icisc.om