On January 5, 2026, The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), partnered with Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), a Japanese Shipping Company, to establish two Joint Ventures (JVs) to enter the ethane shipping business.
- The project has been undertaken with the backing of the MoPNG and the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) under the Ministry of Finance(MoF).
- What? Partnership announced
- Entities: ONGC and MOL
- Purpose: To establish two JVs in ethane shipping sector
- Two JVs: Bharat Ethane One IFSC Private Limited, Bharat Ethane Two IFSC Private Limited.
Key Details of JVs:
New Two Joint Ventures: Two JVs include Bharat Ethane One International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) Private Limited and Bharat Ethane Two IFSC Private Limited, registered in Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT)-City, Gandhinagar (Gujarat).
VLECs: Each JV will own one Very Large Ethane Carrier (VLEC), specialized ships designed for transporting ethane safely and efficiently.
Ownership Structure: Under this partnership, ONGC will hold a 50% stake in each JV and MOL will hold the remaining 50% in each.
Purpose: The VLECs will transport ethane from the United States of America (USA) to India. Ethane will help meet the feedstock requirements of ONGC Petro Additions Limited (OPaL), a petrochemical arm of ONGC.
Alignment: The initiative aligns with the Government of India (GOI)’s vision of Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision (MAKV) 2047.
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