NEW DELHI: India’s monthly LNG imports dropped for the first time in fiscal year 2017 (April-March) in July after witnessing sharp double digit growth in the previous three months. According to data published by oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), LNG imports in July were 1.96bn m³, down 3.8% compared with the same month last year as consumption slowed. But the cumulative imports for the FY 2017 remain substantially higher year-on-year. For the first four months of FY 2017, India’s LNG imports were 8.092bn m³, up almost by 22%.
The cost of importing LNG has dropped sharply this year after New Delhi signed a revised long term contract with Doha. Qatar is the largest supplier of LNG to India. Given the backdrop of low global LNG prices, Petronet LNG insisted on renegotiating its long term contract with RasGas. In December and the two parties have signed a revised deal. The revised formula bases the price on a three-month average figure of Brent crude oil, replacing a five-year average of a basket of crude imported by Japan.
