The leading Petronet company in India continues its efforts to obtain additional huge quantities of Qatari liquefied gas, which was the main supporter of the Asian country, whose imports of liquefied gas declined during the past year (2022).
The CEO of the company, which is the largest importer of gas in India, AK Singh, said that his company is seeking to obtain about an additional million tons per year of LNG supplies, when renewing its long-term deal with Qatar, according to what was reported by the agency. Reuters.
Singh said, in a speech to reporters today, Tuesday, February 7 (2023), on the sidelines of the Indian Energy Week, that Petronet wants additional quantities estimated at between 750 thousand and one million cubic tons of Qatari liquefied gas, according to what was seen by the specialized energy platform.
Qatari liquefied gas to India
The Indian company Petronet obtains about 8.5 million tons of Qatari liquefied gas annually under long-term contracts, as it buys it at a price of $16 per million British thermal units, under contracts that extend until the end of this year.
The Indian company is scheduled to renew its contracts with Qatar by the end of this year 2023, especially with the decline in India’s imports of liquefied natural gas for the second year in a row during the past year 2022, according to information seen by the specialized energy platform.
The decrease in India’s imports of liquefied natural gas is due to the decrease in the capacity of utilities, after the Asian country boosted electricity production using coal at the expense of natural gas, at a time when the country expects an increase in demand for liquefied gas in the coming years.
India’s imports of liquefied natural gas
The head of the Indian company Petronet said that his company is currently buying about 1.42 million cubic tons of liquefied natural gas from an Exxon Mobil project in Australia, pointing out that it expects to obtain about 0.6 million additional tons under a deal between 2025 and 2026.
The main deal between Petronet and Exxon Mobil stipulates that the first will obtain about 2.02 million cubic tons, which it will import in 2025-2026, but the Indian company will seek to obtain another 0.6 million cubic tons from the project, according to information seen by the specialized energy platform.
AK Singh explained that Petronet, in addition to its efforts to obtain additional quantities of Qatari LNG, is looking forward to linking LNG purchased under long-term contracts with international gas indices.
Indian terminal capabilities
As India grapples with an infrastructure crisis, the gas importer is looking to expand LNG terminal capacity by more than 53% over the coming years, including opening its first terminal on the country’s east coast.
Petronet currently has a 17.5 million-tonne LNG terminal in Daheg, western Gujarat state, as well as a 5-million-tonne plant in Kochi in southern India, and is currently building its third terminal in Gopalpur, eastern Odisha state.
“We are looking for an additional 12 million tons of LNG (capacity), 3 million for the Kochi station, 4 million for the Gopalpur station, and 5 million for the Dahigg station,” the CEO of the company said, explaining that the Kochi station is currently operating with a lower capacity, because the pipeline connection is not fully prepared.”
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