India eyes Brunei LNG supplies

This was revealed on Wednesday by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a banquet hosted by the Sultan of Brunei.

According to a statement by the government of India, this is the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Brunei.

Modi said the two countries are committed to strengthening their cooperation in economic, scientific, and strategic sectors.

„Under the energy sector, we discussed the potential for long-term cooperation in LNG,“ he said.

Modi did not provide further information regarding the LNG cooperation.

Brunei has the 6.7 mtpa Brunei LNG export plant in Lumut, one of the world’s oldest LNG export facilities.

Shell and Mitsubishi have each a 25 percent share in the facility, while the Brunei government holds 50 percent.

This facility mostly ships LNG to Japan.

On the other hand, India currently 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.

During April-July, India took some 11.42 bcm of LNG, or about 8.5 million metric tonnes, up by 13.1 percent compared to the same period last year, according to the preliminary data from the oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell.