India’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports dropped for the second straight month in July when compared to the year ago.
LNG imports decreased 14.9 percent to 2.52 billion cubic meters or about 1.87 million tonnes in July, data from the oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell shows.
However, when compared to the previous month, LNG imports rose about 9 percent.
Also, total LNG imports in the April-July period increased by 1.9 percent to 10.16 bcm or about 7.51 million tonnes, PPAC said.
On the other side, natural gas production in July increased 18.4 percent to 2.98 bcm while it rose 2.9 percent in the April-July period to 11.06 bcm.
One of the reasons behind India’s lower LNG imports when compared to the previous year could be high prices, prompting Indian buyers to hold off on buying high-priced spot volumes.
In addition, India’s demand for LNG dropped in May and June as lockdowns to curb the second deadly wave of Covid-19 hit industrial activities and consumption.
At the moment, India imports LNG via six facilities with a combined capacity of 42.5 million tonnes.
Petronet LNG’s 17.5 mtpa Dahej terminal operated at 86 percent capacity while Shell’s 5 mtpa Hazira terminal operated at 63.1 percent capacity in April-June, the PPAC data shows.
