India lifts emergency gas curbs

In March, India invoked the measures amid the disruption of LNG shipments caused by the Middle East crisis.

India’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said in an announcement that the disruption of LNG shipments through the Strait of Hormuz “has been subject to a ceasefire and negotiations are ongoing, as part of which, sea traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has been permitted to be resumed.”

Therefore, the government has decided to amend the order issued in March.

The order shall come into force on the date of its publication in the official gazette, it said.

In March, India’s largest LNG importer Petronet LNG issued a force majeure notice to its offtakers, including its shareholder GAIL, after it received a notice from state-owned LNG giant QatarEnergy, which stopped production at its giant Ras Laffan LNG plant due to attacks.

QatarEnergy said that it expects the damage to its Ras Laffan complex caused by missile strikes to cost about $20 billion a year in lost revenue and to take up to five years to repair, impacting supply to markets in Europe and Asia.

Petronet recently received an LNG cargo from Qatar via the Strait of Hormuz at its Dahej terminal in Gujarat.

“The voyage holds special significance as Disha became the first Indian LNG carrier to transit the Strait of Hormuz following its reopening,” Petronet said.