India to Launch Online Gas Trading in May: Press

Indian Gas Exchange (IGX), a unit of Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), is likely to start natural gas trading on its platform early-May if things get better on the ground. India has been under lockdown since March 25 to stop the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19).

The platform was supposed to come online in March itself but the launch got delayed due to the lockdown which remains in place till May 3, Rajesh Mediratta, director at IGX said in a virtual event on April 28, the Economic Times reported.

IGX would be India’s first online gas trading platform for the physical delivery of natural gas. Initially, the company has identified Dahej, Hazira and Kakinada as delivery points and will subsequently include Dhabol, Kochi, Ennore and Mundra terminals, the newspaper reported.

According to Mediratta, all trades which will take place on the platform will be for physical delivery and non-transferable. Trading of natural gas will take place in rupee and the minimum lot size would be 100mn Btu. IGX has already conducted two mock trading sessions in March and April, he added.

Speaking at the event, D K Sarraf, chairman of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Regulatory Board (PNGRB), the Indian downstream regulator, said IGX’s natural gas trading platform will be different from the government’s natural gas trading hub.