India’s LNG imports increased 0.1 percent in March year-on-year following a drop in January and February.
LNG imports reached 2.97 billion cubic meters or about 2.18 million tonnes in March, data from the oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell shows.
Some reports previously suggested that one of the reasons behind the country’s lower LNG imports this year could be the unprecedented surge in January spot prices, prompting Indian buyers to hold off on buying high-priced spot volumes.
In addition to this, India is again battling with the Covid-19 pandemic and the country has reported a huge spike in new cases in the last weeks.
Total LNG imports in the April 2020-March 2021 period dropped by 3 percent to 32.85 bcm or about 24.14 million tonnes, the PPAC data shows.
Moreover, the value of March LNG imports increased and the price tag totaled $0.8 billion compared to $0.7 billion in the same month last year.
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 94 percent capacity while Shell’s 5 mtpa Hazira terminal operated at 79 percent capacity in April-February, the PPAC data shows.
The country will also soon start importing LNG via H-Energy’s facility in Jaigarh following the arrival of Hoegh Giant FSRU.