Sri Lanka’s Laugfs Gas in partnership with Chinese Hambantota Port operator

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Laugfs Gas said it has struck a partnership with the Chinese operator of Hambantota port on the south coast to begin liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) import, blending and re-export to regional markets from November.

Hambantota International Port Group (HIPG) will provide Laugfs Gas a pipeline connection from the jetty to the LPG distributor’s tank farm in the port to enable gas imports and exports, a joint statement said.

“The Laugfs Group’s potential customers are some of the fast growing economies positioned in close proximity to the Hambantota Port like, India, Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar and East Coast of Africa.”

W. K. H. Wegapitiya, Group Chairman of Laugfs Holdings said Laugfs has plans to bring LPG in larger vessels from international markets like the Gulf, US, and Singapore to Hambantota.

The port’s two jetties dedicated for oil, gas and petroleum business makes it convenient for the company, especially since the port will provide them with a connection facility to unload vessels through a pipeline connecting to their facility about 3 km from the jetty, he said.

This would help the firm transfer the LPG from ships direct to their facility, in large quantities of 20,000 to 30,000 metric tonnes.

Mixing and blending will then be done to create different LPG products, according to market demand, and these would then be exported from Hambantota to Indian Ocean rim countries.

“Once Laugfs terminal opens in November this year, we would be bringing close on 30 ships per month; 20 of them would be owned by us,” Wegapitiya said.

HIPG chief executive Ray Ren said that their first partnership with a local entrepreneur of Laugfs Gas calibre would be a major confidence boost for the Hambantota Port enterprise.

“The synergies HIPG and Laugfs will bring will give the port the impetus to position itself not only as an energy hub but also as a major international player for shipping and logistics. It will also open up a wealth of local job opportunities in different disciplines, which would be a boon to locals seeking employment and in the long term, the Sri Lankan economy.”
(COLOMBO, 03 October, 2018

This is a good investment. Thanks.