IGX awaits regulatory nod for introducing ssLNG contracts: CEO Mediratta

The gas exchange has proposed to launch the contracts at Dahej, Dabhol, Hazira, Kochi and Ennore LNG terminals.

Indian Gas Exchange (IGX), India’s first gas exchange which completed three years in December, plans to launch small-scale liquefied natural gas (ssLNG) contracts after getting a regulatory nod, said CEO Rajesh Mediratta.

IGX, which currently only provides contracts for natural gas, has filed an application with the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Body (PNGRB) for LNG contracts and expects approval soon, the company said. Mediratta said ssLNG contracts would benefit buyers who are situated in areas, which are not yet covered by the national gas grid.

Initially, the gas exchange has proposed to launch the contracts at Dahej, Dabhol, Hazira, Kochi and Ennore LNG terminals.

IGX said approximately 0.7 MMSCMD (million metric standard cubic metre per day) of LNG is transported by road in India as of FY23, constituting around 0.4 percent of the total natural gas consumption. This is expected to grow to 5 MMSCMD over the next five years, it added.

CBG certificates

With the government introducing mandatory compressed biofuel blending in compressed natural gas (CNG) and piped natural gas (PNG), IGX has proposed to introduce a CBG certificates scheme.

The company said it has proposed to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) to introduce CBG certificates to support the implementation of the recently introduced CBG blending obligation (CBO). IGX said the green attribute of CBG can be converted into a certificate and can be traded separately or along with the gas certifying it as green gas.

The government has recently made CBG blending in CNG and PNG mandatory starting FY26. CBO would be kept as 1 percent, 3 percent and 4 percent of total CNG/PNG consumption for FY26, FY27 and FY28 respectively.