The 50:50 joint venture between Indian LPG giant Confidence Petroleum and Norway’s BW LPG

A 50:50 joint venture has been formed by Confidence Petroleum India Limited (CPIL) and Norway’s BW LPG to construct LPG storage facilities, import ports, bottling factories, and distribution infrastructure across India.

BW LPG acquired an 8.50% stake in Confidence last year after investing USD 30 million in the. Confidence used a portion of the funds to develop its LPG infrastructure in India. Over a three-year period, Confidence plans to build 500 vehicle LPG outlets and 32 bottling factories.

The JV that was just established is known as BW Confidence Enterprise Private Ltd. Establishing a massive LPG storage facility at JNPT, Mumbai in collaboration with Ganesh Benzoplast Limited (GBL) is the JV’s first project.

The terminal, which would accommodate the increasing imports, will be among India’s biggest LPG storage facilities.

The joint venture would work closely with the global trading desk of BW LPG and its shipping business in India to get LPG at reasonable prices from overseas markets. Following that, the obtained LPG will be delivered to CPIL and other participants in the quickly expanding LPG market in India.

“By harnessing BW LPG’s global expertise and CPIL’s local knowledge, BW Confidence Enterprise is strongly positioned to accelerate development of India’s LPG infrastructure,” CPIL Chairman Nitin Khara stated in reference to the joint venture. More than 50,000 direct and indirect employment are expected to be created by the projects.

Founded in 1993, Confidence is a combined LPG and CNG business. It has grown over time to become one of the leading private LPG firms in India, having a significant presence in the home, automotive, and industrial markets. The largest private sector LPG bottling company in India, CPIL has over 68 facilities and a network of over 250 vehicle LPG outlets around the country.

With a combined capacity of more than 3 million cubic meters, the 46 very large gas carriers (VLGCs) and 2 medium gas carriers owned and operated by Norway-based BW LPG make up the biggest fleet in the world. The biggest VLGC operator flying the Indian flag, BW LPG India is a fully-owned company that was founded in 2017 and now handles around 20% of LPG imports into the nation.