India’s imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) rose 47 percent...

India’s imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) rose 47 percent in January on a yearly basis, logging a rise for the fifth consecutive month, according to the latest data from oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC).

India imported 2.41 billion cubic meters of LNG or about 1.78 million tonnes last month.

The costs of these imports were at $0.8 billion compared to $0.5 billion in January last year, the PPAC data shows.

India’s domestic natural gas production dropped 1.6 percent to 2.69 Bcm.
In the April-January period, India imported 21.8 Bcm or about 16.13 million tonnes of LNG, a rise of 6.9 percent on the year.

India is planning to more than double the share of natural gas in its energy mix to 15 percent by 2022 from about 6.5 percent now.

The country reportedly aims to build additional eleven LNG import terminals to cater for the upcoming demand.

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


A unit of Malaysian energy giant Petronas has signed a liquefied natural gas (LNG) deal to supply the chilled fuel to India.

Petronas LNG signed the sale and purchase agreement with H-Energy Mideast DMCC (HEMD), a Dubai-based wholly-owned unit of Hiranandani Group’s H-Energy.

The deal signed on January 24 is the first Indian LNG supply deal for Petronas that operates the giant Bintulu LNG complex in Sarawak.

Petronas did not reveal the amount of LNG it would sell to H-Energy nor the time frame.

The company said that the deal was in line with its growth strategy to expand its LNG supply and “help meet rising demand for clean and reliable energy in the fourth-fastest-growing economy in the world.”

Petronas says it is currently the third largest LNG player globally. It has also diversified its LNG supply portfolio in recent years with the inclusion of Australia Gladstone LNG and the world’s first floating LNG facility, the PFLNG Satu.

On the other side, H-Energy is developing LNG import projects in India. Recently, it joined forces with Japanese shipping company Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line) for an LNG import development in West Bengal on the east coast of India.


www.lngworldnews.com