Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. (APSEZ) has secured a 10-year marine services contract for Argentina’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project, marking the company’s entry into South America, the company said in an exchange filing on Monday.
The contract has been awarded to APSEZ’s step-down subsidiary, The Adani Harbour International FZCO, through a consortium with Argentina-based Meridian Group, following a global competitive tender conducted by Southern Energy S.A. (SESA).
The agreement is backed by an estimated investment commitment of $70 million.
Tugboats, offshore logistics, crew transfer in scope
Under the agreement, the consortium will deliver end-to-end marine services including tugboat operations for LNG carriers, offshore logistics and supply support, and crew transfer services. The scope will be supported by four high-specification tugboats, one anchor handling tug supply vessel, and one crew boat.
The contract will be executed through Meridian Transportes Marítimos S.A., the 51:49 joint venture between Adani Harbour International FZCO and Meridian Group.
2.45 MT annually from San Matías Gulf; operations from September 2027
The Southern Energy FLNG project is being developed by SESA, a joint venture between Golar LNG and Pan American Energy (PAE). Located in the San Matías Gulf in Argentina’s Río Negro Province, the project will liquefy natural gas from the General San Martin pipeline aboard the FLNG vessel Hilli Episeyo, with commercial operations expected to begin in September 2027.
In its first phase, the project is expected to produce 2.45 MT of LNG annually, equivalent to approximately 28 cargoes per year, making it Argentina’s first operational LNG export project. Argentina has agreements in place to support LNG exports of up to 10 MT annually to India from 2027.
Ashwani Gupta, Whole-time Director and CEO, APSEZ, said: “This project reflects our growing capability to support large-scale energy infrastructure projects across geographies. With marine operations in 12 countries and a growing fleet of marine assets supporting ports, LNG terminals, national oil companies, refineries and offshore facilities, we bring deep operational expertise to complex maritime environments. By combining these capabilities with strong local partnerships, we are helping create reliable maritime ecosystems that enable new energy trade corridors and strengthen long-term supply resilience.”
653 MTPA capacity; 27% of India’s port volumes
APSEZ operates 15 ports and terminals across India’s three coasts and four international ports in Australia, Colombo, Israel, and Tanzania.
The company commands approximately 27% of India’s total port volumes, with a cargo handling capacity of 653 million tonnes per annum, targeting 1 billion tonnes throughput by 2030. Its marine fleet comprises 136 vessels.
