India’s LNG imports dropped for the second month in a row this year following a steady rise during the second half of the last year.
LNG imports dropped 20.2 percent year-on-year to 2.81 billion cubic meters or about 2.08 million tonnes in February, data from the oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell shows.
Some reports suggest that one of the reasons behind the country’s lower LNG imports could be the unprecedented surge in January spot prices, prompting Indian buyers to hold off on buying high-priced spot volumes.
Total LNG imports in the April 2020-February 2021 period dropped by 3.3 percent to 29.88 bcm or about 22.1 million tonnes.
Moreover, the value of February LNG imports eased and the price tag totaled $0.8 billion compared to $0.9 billion in the same month last year.
Same as in January, India’s domestic natural gas production declined last month 1.4 percent to 2.30 bcm.
India currently imports LNG via six terminals with a combined capacity of 42.5 million tonnes.
Petronet LNG’s 17.5 mtpa Dahej terminal operated at 93.6 percent capacity while Shell’s 5 mtpa Hazira terminal operated at 83.4 percent capacity in April-January, the PPAC data shows.