By A Correspondent

Ahmedabad (Gujarat): Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ), India’s largest integrated transport utility, has secured a 10-year marine services contract for Argentina’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) export, marking its entry into South America and expanding its international marine services footprint. APSEZ’s step-down subsidiary, the Adani Harbour International FZCO, won the contract through a consortium with Argentina-based Meridian Group, following a global competitive tender process conducted by Southern Energy S.A. (SESA), supported by an estimated investment commitment of $70 million.

“The award strengthens APSEZ’s presence across international energy logistics value chains and underscores its growing capabilities in specialised marine services,” Adani Ports said in a statement on June 8, 2026. Under the agreement, the consortium would provide end-to-end marine services, including tugboat operations for LNG carriers, offshore logistics and supply support, and crew transfer services. The scope would be supported by four high-specification tugboats, one anchor handling tug supply vessel, and one crew boat, the company 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,” APSEZ whole-time director and chief executive officer Ashwani Gupta said.

Argentina is emerging as a major new LNG supplier, with agreements in place to support exports of up to 10 million tonnes (MT) annually to India from 2027. The Southern Energy FLNG project is expected to play an important role in connecting this growing supply base with global demand centres. 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 Martín pipeline aboard the Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (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 annually, making it Argentina’s first operational LNG export project. The contract will be executed through Meridian Transportes Marítimos S.A., the 51:49 joint venture between Adani Harbour International FZCO and Meridian Group.

APSEZ, part of the globally diversified Adani Group, is an Integrated Transport Operator across cargo origination (International Freight Network) through port handling, rail transport, multi-modal logistics parks, warehousing, and final delivery via road transport to customer gates. APSEZ boasts of a comprehensive “shore-to-door” capability, supported by cutting-edge digital infrastructure and AI-driven optimisation as an integrated logistics solutions provider.

The company operates a comprehensive ecosystem of 15 strategically located ports and terminals across India’s west, south, and east coasts, combined with a diversified marine fleet of 136 vessels, integrated logistics capabilities including 12 multi-modal logistics parks, 3.1 million sq. ft. of warehouses, and 25,000+ trucks operating on its proprietary platform, thus providing capabilities to handle vast amounts of cargo from both coastal areas and the hinterland. APSEZ also operates 4 international ports across Australia, Colombo, Israel, and Tanzania.

With a current cargo handling capacity of 653 million tonnes annually, APSEZ commands approximately 27% of India’s total port volumes, targeting 1 billion tonnes throughput by 2030. Recognised among the Top 5% of global transportation and transportation infrastructure firms in the 2025 S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (95th percentile globally), with five ports featuring in the World Bank’s Container Port Performance Index 2024, APSEZ combines scale, operational excellence, and integrated capabilities to enable seamless global trade. 

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