India’s LNG imports decline in July

India’s imports of liquefied natural gas dropped 3.8 percent in July, marking the first monthly decline this year as gas consumption remained flat and domestic gas production rose.

India imported 1,960 million metric standard cubic metres (mmscm) of LNG in July compared with 2,037 mmscm in the same month last year, according to the data from oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC).

India’s gas output rose 4.4 percent year-on-year to 2,621 mmscm, while domestic gas consumption increased just 0.7 percent to 4.58 billion cubic meters in July, PPAC said.

The country imported 8,092 mmscm of LNG in April-July, up by 21.9 percent as compared with the corresponding period of the previous year.

Costs of importing chilled gas into India have dropped sharply this year after India’s largest LNG importer, Petronet signed a revised long-term contract with RasGas of Qatar.

The country’s prime minister Narendra Modi recently said that the world’s fourth-largest importer of the chilled fuel could save up to US$3 billion due to the renegotiated import deal.

India imports LNG via Petronet’s Dahej and Kochi LNG terminals, Shell’s Hazira plant, and the Dabhol terminal operated by Ratnagiri Gas and Power.

LNG World News Staff