Amid Hindenburg Row, Adani Total Set To Start LNG Operations At Dhamra Terminal

Adani Total Private Ltd expects to acquire its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) consignment at the Dhamra terminal in April. The company is hopeful that the commercial operations involving imported LNG will start within the period of 30 to 45 days after receiving its first shipment of LNG, reported Reuters.

Dhamra port is the only port located in India’s east coast. India’s other five crucial ports are all located on country’s western coast. The port was due to start in September 2021 and it is expected that it will enhance India’s use of natural gas to 15 per cent from the current usage of 6 per cent.

An Adani Group spokeswoman told Reuters, “The port infrastructure at Dhamra is ready to receive LNG cargoes at the Terminal per the contractual specifications." The report also quoted Adani Total’s chief executive saying that Dhamra port will receive 2.2 millon tonnes of LNG from this year till March 2024. It is anticipated that all the safety checks and testings are to be completed by February whereas all the required regulatory approvals have been attained, said Adani Total.

TotalEnergy, a French gas company, has 50 per cent stake in Adani Total. Earlier this month, the French oil giant claimed to have suspended its participation in Adani Group’s $50 billion dollar hydrogen project citing the pending results of an audit.

The uncertainty was induced by the Hindenburg report which flagged the Gautam Adani-led conglomerate of malpractices such as illegal use of off-shore entities and manipulation of the stock prices. Since the Hindenburg report was published, Adani Group companies have lost Rs 11.85 lakh crore in its market capitalisation.