India's LNG Imports Drop for the First Time This Year in July
India’s monthly LNG imports dropped for the first time in fiscal year 2017 (April-March) in July after witnessing sharp double digit growth in the previous three months.
According to data published by oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), LNG imports in July were 1.96bn m³, down 3.8% compared with the same month last year as consumption slowed. But the cumulative imports for the FY 2017 remain substantially higher year-on-year. For the first four months of FY 2017, India’s LNG imports were 8.092bn m³, up almost by 22%.
Petronet's Dahej LNG terminal (Credit: Petronet)
The cost of importing LNG has dropped sharply this year after New Delhi signed a revised long term contract with Doha. Qatar is the largest supplier of LNG to India. Given the backdrop of low global LNG prices, Petronet LNG insisted on renegotiating its long term contract with RasGas. In December and the two parties have signed a revised deal. The revised formula bases the price on a three-month average figure of Brent crude oil, replacing a five-year average of a basket of crude imported by Japan.
India’s LNG imports (bn m³ and year on year %+/-)
|
April |
2.142 |
+45 |
|
May |
2.081 |
+43 |
|
June |
1.908 |
+14
|
Source: Govt
India has four operational LNG terminals at Dahej and Hazira in Gujarat, Dabhol in Maharashtra and Kochi in the state of Kerala. According to a document released by the oil ministry on June 3, country’s LNG terminal capacity will likely rise to more than double by 2022 as existing terminals expand capacity and new ones get commissioned.
Domestic production and consumption
India’s gross gas output in July stood at 2.705bn m³, up 3% year-on-year. Cumulative output for the first four months of FY 2017 was 10.447bn m³, down about 3.8% on the same period of previous year. Coalbed methane output in July was 46.8mn m³ while the combined output in FY 2017 was 170.4mn m³.
Consumption in July was 4.582bn m³, up just 0.7% on the same month of previous year. Total consumption for the month of June was 3.952bn m³, an increase of approximately 3.47% over the corresponding month of the previous year.
Shardul Sharma