Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) plans to import 800,000 tonnes of ethane annually from mid-2028 to compensate for changes in liquefied natural gas (LNG) composition under its renewed contract with QatarEnergy. The company has floated a tender seeking partners to develop very large ethane carriers (VLECs) for transporting the feedstock.

India currently imports 7.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG from Qatar. However, the revised contract, effective from 2028, will supply 'lean' gas—stripped of ethane and propane—impacting ONGC’s petrochemical operations.

To address this, ONGC plans to secure ethane imports for its subsidiary, ONGC Petro additions Ltd (OPaL), which operates Southeast Asia’s largest standalone dual-feed cracker. The company is also inviting joint venture partners for financing and constructing VLECs.

ONGC had invested about Rs 15 billion in its C2/C3 extraction plant at Dahej, Gujarat, in 2008-09. The facility extracts ethane and propane from imported LNG, supplying them as feedstock to OPaL’s petrochemical complex.

With the shift in LNG composition, the firm is now strategizing ethane imports to sustain production. The last date for submitting expressions of interest for the shipping JV is March 27.