Demand of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in India might increase if prices stabilise, said Akshay Kumar Singh, MD and CEO, Petronet LNG.
In a post-results call, Singh said the capacity utilisation at Dahej terminal stood at 97 percent in April compared to 77 percent in the fourth quarter due to softening of LNG prices.
“This is a positive sign that with the softening of LNG prices in the international market, which is now hovering around $10.5-$11 mmBtu, more cargoes on a spot basis are coming into the country. If this price trend continues, more volume processing at the Dahej terminal will be happening,” added Singh.
The Dahej terminal processed 172 TBTU (trillion British thermal units) of LNG in Q4 compared to 178 TBTU during the same period last year.
For the financial year 2022-23, the overall LNG volume processed by the company stood at 752 TBTU, as against the LNG volume processed in the previous financial year, which stood at 847 TBTU.
State-owned Petronet LNG missed analysts’ expectations for the quarter ended March 31 as the LNG importer reported 18.1 percent year-on-year decline in standalone profit at Rs 614.25 crore in Q4.
For the full year, Petronet LNG posted a decline of 3.3 percent in profit at Rs 3,240 crore and the revenue grew by 39 percent to Rs 59,899 crore compared to previous fiscal.
Singh said with the softening in prices, capacity utilisation is expected to increase at the Kochi terminal in the near future as well.
“Two of the major consumers in the Mangalore region, particularly OMPL and MRPL, switched to liquid fuel because of very prices. There could be an increase in capacity utilisation if they switch to LNG,” he said.
Drop in LNG imports
Singh said the Covid-19 pandemic and the war between Russia and Ukraine dented LNG imports in the country due to high international prices.
He said in 2020, LNG import in India was to the tune of 26 million tonnes, which dropped to 24 million tonnes in the next year and in 2022 the imports dropped to 20 million tonnes.
“In the absence of these situations, LNG consumption would have probably gone up to 30 million tonnes in 2022,” he added.
International prices will depend on the temperatures in Europe in the winter season, he added.
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