• PAGE ONE
• INDEX
• HOME

Haldia Petro, SHV Energy in talks for LPG marketing

Our Bureau

KOLKATA, July 14

HALDIA Petrochemicals Ltd (HPL) is in talks with SHV Energy India for marketing its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and expanding the network in the eastern region.

Confirming this development, HPL sources, however, told Business Line that issues like pricing and the volume to be sold were still to be sorted out.

A meeting is due on Monday between Mr Franck Bruneau, Chief Executive Officer, SHV Gas, Paris and Mr R.B. Saldanha, Managing Director of HPL. The meeting will also be attended by senior officers of both the companies.

SHV Energy India, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SHV Gas, Paris, a Fortune 500 company, now buys LPG from HPL on an ad hoc basis. The long-term contract will guarantee the company an assured supply from HPL. The indication is that the agreement in this regard will be signed only after the issue of IOC acquiring a stake in HPL has been resolved. Currently, HPL produces seven tonnes of LPG annually and divides the entire production among IOC and Petronas besides SHV.

Sources said that SHV Energy North East, engaged in marketing the Super Gas brand of gas in the eastern region, has succeeded in developing the market ``substantially'' especially in the industrial segment.

The number of domestic consumers enrolled with the company was 60,000. There were now as many as 40 industrial clients, some of whom had switched over to SHV after years of business relationship with public sector oil companies. The domestic customer bas e was targeted to reach 200,000 by 2002, the sources said.

SHV's list of industrial clients included Exide, Philips, some steel rerolling mills and some of the local biscuit companies. Efforts were also being made to develop new applications, the sources added.

At present, the company meets its requirement through imports from its parent company besides buying from Gas Authority of India Ltd, Indian Oil Corporation, Reliance and HPL.

It has four bottling plants -- one each in Khurdah in Orissa, Ranchi in Jharkhand and two in West Bengal at Uluberia and Burdwan. Further facilities would be created once the tie-up with HPL had been firmed up, the sources said.