India’s state-run gas utility GAIL is seeking a one million tonne per year (t/y) liquefied natural gas (LNG) import deal for ten years starting 2023 to help meet the country’s expanding demand for cleaner fuels amid increasing energy consumption, said the company’s chairman Manoj Jain earlier this week.
“The main consideration of buying LNG will be competitive prices from anywhere including Russia,” Jain said at a press briefing to coincide with the company’s latest quarterly results announcement. He adding that GAIL did not rule out buying extra LNG from Russia’s Gazprom, even though the West is seeking to phase out Russian gas imports due to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, reported local media.
“Also, since demand is increasing in the country, we are diverting LNG from our international portfolio to the Indian market. So, we need gas even for that international portfolio,” added Jain.
GAIL said it currently has a term LNG import deal with Gazprom’s Singapore-based trading arm where it imports 2.5 million t/y.
Gail imported 2 million tonnes of LNG from Gazprom in 2021, and plans to import 2.5 million tonnes for 2022 and 2.85 million tonnes in 2023, the company said. GAIL added that India’s target to boost the share of gas in its overall energy mix to 15% by 2030 from the present 6.7%, could be delayed by one to two years due to the Russia-Ukraine war.
Meanwhile, India’s state-backed Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is considering placing more offers for Russian energy assets that western majors, such as Shell, BP, and ExxonMobil, are seeking to divest following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine