India's Petronet to begin shipping LNG to Sri Lanka in 2025

By Sethuraman N R and Nidhi Verma

QUITOL, India (Reuters) - India's state-run Petronet LNG plans to begin supplying liquefied natural gas (LNG) to neighbouring Sri Lanka for five years starting in 2025, its chief executive said on Thursday.

Petronet will ship 850 metric tons of gas daily to the island nation in 50 containers of 17 tons each, CEO Akshay Kumar Singh said during the India Energy Week event in Goa.

The project will supply two gas-fired power plants in Sri Lanka, which has suffered from crippling power blackouts and fuel shortages.

It will require land to be allocated in Colombo for a small regasification unit, Singh said.

Petronet also plans to commission a floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) in Sri Lanka and hopes to gain government approval by 2025 to build the facility by 2028.

Earlier at the same event Sri Lanka Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera told Reuters that Petronet and Sri Lanka power plant officials were working out the "mechanics" on shipping LNG to the country.

Singh also said that Petronet, India's top gas importer, is looking for more long-term gas deals.

On Tuesday the company signed a deal for QatarEnergy to supply it with 7.5 million tons of LNG annually from 2028 to 2048, extending an existing agreement.

"We need more long-term deals. It is a country requirement," he said.

(Reporting by Sethuraman NR and Nidhi Verma; Writing by Tony Munroe; Editing by David Goodman)