India’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports rose in December compared to the same month in 2022, according to the preliminary data from the oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell.
The country imported about 2.39 billion cubic meters, or about 1.8 million tonnes of LNG, in December, a rise of 12.1 percent compared to the same month in 2022, PPAC said.
During April-December, India took 23.93 bcm of LNG, or some 17.4 million tonnes, up by 14.2 percent, PPAC said.
India paid $1.1 billion for December LNG imports, the same amount as in the year before, and $9.9 billion in April-December, down from $13.7 billion in the year before, it said.
As per India’s natural gas production, it reached 3.13 bcm in December, up by 6.1 percent compared to the corresponding month of the previous year.
During April-December, gas production rose by 5.2 percent to about 27.2 bcm, PPAC said.
At the moment, India imports LNG via seven facilities with a combined capacity of about 47.7 million tonnes.
India’s Adani and France’s TotalEnergies started supplying natural gas in April 2023 to the grid from their 5 mtpa Dhamra LNG import facility located in Odisha, on India’s east coast.
During April-November, Petronet LNG’s 17.5 mtpa Dahej terminal operated at 94.4 percent capacity, while Shell’s 5 mtpa Hazira terminal operated at 34.6 percent capacity, PPAC said.
The Dhamra LNG terminal operated at 25.4 percent capacity, it said.