ONGC, MOL deepen maritime logistics tie as ethane shipping JVs move forward

New Delhi: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) said in a post on X that the company and Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), Japan, “advanced their strategic dialogue on maritime logistics” during a meeting between MOL Chairman Takeshi Hashimoto and ONGC Chairman Arun Kumar Singh at ONGC headquarters in New Delhi. The post said the leaders were “steering the future of energy across global waters” and were exploring new avenues to strengthen cooperation in energy transportation.

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The company said the discussions focused on “building resilient supply chains, enabling efficient logistics frameworks, and unlocking synergies in a rapidly evolving global energy landscape.”

Joint ventures for ethane shipping were reviewed

ONGC said the two sides reviewed progress on Bharat Ethane One IFSC Ltd and Bharat Ethane Two IFSC Ltd, the joint ventures formed earlier this year with MOL. In January, ONGC had acquired 50 percent shareholding in each company through private placement, making it a 50:50 joint venture partner with MOL in both entities. Each JV will own one Very Large Ethane Carrier, or VLEC, for transporting ethane for ONGC Petro additions Ltd. (OPaL), a subsidiary of ONGC.

Ethane carriers are meant to serve OPaL in Dahej

MOL said in its January 28 statement that the two joint ventures and ONGC had signed a 15-year charter contract for two newbuilding VLECs during India Energy Week 2026. The Japanese shipping company said the vessels would be 100,000 cubic metres each, built by Samsung Heavy Industries, and scheduled for delivery in late 2028 or later, after which they would transport liquefied ethane from the US to India.

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MOL also said the liquefied ethane would be supplied as feedstock to OPaL’s petrochemical plant in Dahej, Gujarat. It added that the contract would expand MOL’s VLEC fleet to 16 vessels, which it described as the largest in the world.

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