The Dhamra LNG import facility in Odisha, built by the Adani Group, was constructed without any financial backing or guarantees from the public sector giants IOC and GAIL, who are tenants of the facility. It was clarified that both Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and GAIL (India) Ltd have secured capacity at the newly built terminal at rates lower than those at a similar, older, and depreciated facility in Dahej, Gujarat.
The Dhamra LNG terminal project had a total cost of Rs 6,450 crore, and it was emphasized that no upfront amount or bank guarantee was provided by IOC and GAIL. The project was fully financed by equity and debt from the shareholders of the Dhamra LNG terminal.
The sources disputed claims that IOC and GAIL paid Rs 46,500 crore, highlighting that the tariff and commercial terms of the Dhamra LNG terminal were determined through competitive benchmarking, using Petronet LNG's Dahej terminal as a reference. The Dhamra terminal's tariff was stated to be 1.5% lower than the Dahej LNG terminal charges.
The focus was on distinguishing Dhamra LNG from the Ennore LNG terminal, which had higher regasification charges. They stated that Dhamra LNG does not engage in buying and selling LNG, it solely provides the service of LNG handling and dispatch.
It was also mentioned that businessman Darshan Hiranandani's H-Energy had obtained an NOC to set up an LNG terminal in Kukrahati in February 2020. However, H-Energy was unable to offer better terms to IOC and GAIL compared to what was available at the Dhamra LNG terminal, which affected its progress.
The reasons behind IOC and GAIL not taking equity in Dhamra were attributed to the LNG terminal's ability to offer commercially competitive terms and pipeline tariff competitiveness. Their strategic objective was met without injecting equity, as they could bring LNG to their consumption centers at the lowest terms via Dhamra.
The confidence of IOC and GAIL in the project completion was bolstered by the strong credentials of the project developers and the significant pre-investment by Adani.
