Indian
Oil Corporation took to Twitter to clarify its involvement in an Adani Ports'
gas import terminal. In a series of tweets, the state-run refiner said there was no binding agreement or
take-or-pay liability in place with Adani Ports.
The
clarification comes after TMC MP Mahua Moitra's tweet accusing IOC of
not following a proper tender process for the agreement. Moitra’s tweet said
the refiner would shift “a large chunk” of LPG imports to the Adani facility at
Gangavaram port from the adjacent state owned Visakhapatnam port.
Moitra raised a stink of a scam in hiring of the
port facility without a tender, contradicted
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd's earning call presentation that said
''MoU signed with IOCL for a take-or-pay contract at Gangavaram Port for building
LPG handling facilities.'' ''.
Tagging
Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and CVC
Moitra said, ''No tender. No CVC norms. Moving business from Vizag Port
to Gangavaram. Skimming from coal, skimming from gas, now skimming from 'chula'
in every household. Shame!''.
She quoted newspaper report saying Indian Oil would fully underwrite Adani’s LPG terminal. A
take-or-pay contract means that the state-owned firm will have to pay for using
the terminal's full 5 lakh tonnes capacity a year even if it ships less than
the committed quantity.
IOC
currently uses state-run Visakhapatnam or Vizag Port, located adjacent to
Gangavaram port, to import some 7-8 lakh tons of LPG annually.
According
to IOC, the agreement with Adani Ports, Gangavarm is advantageous for it as the
company has offered a price of Rs 1,050 for LPG import terminal charges, which
includes the added benefit of being able to unload refrigerated LPG directly
from bigger vessels.
In
contrast,, the terminals at Visakhapatnam SALPG (South Asia LPG, a joint venture
of TOTAL & HPCL) charges Rs 1,050 and EIPL (East India Petroleum Limited- a
private company) charges Rs 900 but have a lower capacity for unloading vessels
and lack a captive connectivity system for continuous use. |