Panaji: State-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd is in talks with several global shipping lines including Danish shipping major Maersk, Italian major Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A (MSC), and Germany’s HAPAG-Lloyd to source crude oil from the planned liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering facility at Kerala’s Vizhinjam port.
In an interview to Mint on the sidelines of India Energy Week 2026, Rahul Tandon, head of BPCL’s gas business, said the global trading major Vitol was holding discussions with prospective buyers of clean fuels. Refueling at such facilities are largely carried out through term contracts.
“We are all geared up. It’s just that now we are interacting with customers and making customers… global liners Maersk, Hapag and MSC, among others. Vitol is talking to the customers and arranging the customers,” he said.
Queries mailed to Maersk, MSC, HAPAG and Adani Ports on Wednesday evening remained unanswered at the time of publishing.
India’s first LNG bunkering facility
BPCL is also looking at chartering a vessel to set up the facility, which would be India’s first LNG bunkering facility, Tandon said. He added that the facility was in line with the government’s vision to develop India as a maritime hub as it would provide a clean refueling option to ships across the Indian Ocean region. He noted that currently, the nearest LNG bunkering facility is in Singapore. Other facilities are in Europe, with Rotterdam providing the largest capacity.
Tandon was optimistic on demand, given that the shipping sector is moving towards cleaner fuels such as LNG and green methanol. “These large ship containers have the capacity to take 5,000 to 10,000 cubic meters (of LNG). We are currently exploring for chartering either a 12, 000 or 18, 000 cubic meter vessel, he said.
Situated strategically near to the east-west international shipping corridor, the upcoming facility is expected to establish Vizhinjam as a major hub for low-carbon shipping across the Indian Ocean region.
The initiative was formalised in October 2025 through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited (AVPPL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) during India Maritime Week 2025 in Mumbai. The state-run refiner and oil marketing company have also signed an MoU for LNG bunkering and dual-fuel vessels at Cochin Port in Kerala.
“We been working on it for past one-and-a-half years, working closely with the DG shipping and department of explosives to make sure that the guidelines, SoPs, everything is in place. We’ got the bunkering license about 2-3 months ago,” Tandon said.
LNG in the limelight
LNG has recently gained more attention as ship fuel not only in Europe but also in Asia and the US. Using LNG for ship reduces sulphur oxide emissions by 90% to 95%. It can also reduce greenhouse gas emissions up to 23% with modern engine technology, according to DNV, a global independent assurance and risk management provider.
In October, prime minister Narendra Modi said with a coastline exceeding 7,500 km and an expanding network of globally competitive ports, India was poised to become a major maritime hub, offering not only connectivity but value-added services, green shipping initiatives, and industry-friendly policy frameworks. He called on domestic and international investors to invest in India’s maritime space.
(Rituraj Baruah is in Panaji on the invitation of the union ministry of petroleum and natural gas.)
