India’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports rose in April this year compared to the same month last year, according to the preliminary data from the oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell.
The country imported about 2.60 billion cubic meters, or about 1.9 million tonnes of LNG, in April via long-term contracts and spot purchases, a rise of 3.7 percent compared to the same month in 2023, PPAC said.
In March this year, LNG imports dropped slightly following a year-on-year rise in January and February, PPAC’s data previously showed.
During the April 2023-March 2024 financial year, India took some 23.3 million tonnes, up by 17.5 percent.
India paid $1.1 billion for April LNG imports, the same as in April last year, and $13.3 billion in the April-March period, down from $17.1 billion in the year before, PPAC said.
As per India’s natural gas production, it reached 2.95 bcm in April, up by 7.8 percent compared to the corresponding month of the previous year.
At the moment, India imports LNG via seven facilities with a combined capacity of about 47.7 million tonnes.
These include Petronet LNG’s Dahej and Kochi terminals, Shell’s Hazira terminal, and the Dabhol LNG, Ennore LNG, Mundra LNG, and Dhamra LNG terminal.
The Chhara LNG import terminal in Gujarat should also receive its commissioning cargo later this year after it recently failed to unload the cargo from the 2015-built 159,800-cbm, Maran Gas Mystras.
India’s Hindustan Petroleum, a unit of state-owned ONGC, aims to launch its delayed Chhara LNG import terminal by October this year, according to its management.
During April 2023-March 2024, the 17.5 mtpa Dahej terminal operated at 95.1 percent capacity, while the 5.2 mtpa Hazira terminal operated at 30.3 percent capacity, PPAC said.
The 5 mtpa Dhamra LNG terminal operated at 27.4 percent capacity, the 5 mtpa Dabhol LNG terminal operated at 42.7 percent capacity, the 5 mtpa Kochi LNG terminal operated at 20.6 percent capacity, and the 5 mtpa Ennore LNG terminal operated at 18.3 percent capacity, it said.
