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Gas demand uptick driven by power sector bumps up India’s LNG imports in April-July
Growth in domestic demand for natural gas amid reasonable prices and ample availability of liquefied natural gas (LNG), or super-chilled gas, in the international market led to a double-digit growth in India’s LNG imports in the first four months of the current financial year (FY25). Notably, the uptick in imports came amid a growth in domestic gas production as well.
The consumption growth was primarily driven by the power sector, given that the government’s thrust on raising power production to meet high summer demand led to higher-than-usual electricity generation by gas-based units.
The country’s LNG imports rose 13.1 per cent year-on-year in April-July to 11,423 million standard cubic metres (mscm), while natural gas consumption was higher by 8.6 per cent at 23,364 mscm, per latest provisional data available with the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the oil ministry. Net domestic natural gas production for the four-month period was 11,941 mscm, up 4.6 per cent year-on-year.
For the April-June quarter (Q1)—the peak summer quarter in most parts of India—power generation by gas-based plants jumped 62.5 per cent year-on-year to 13.49 billion units (1 unit is 1 kilowatt hour), per data from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA). The overall plant load factor (PLF)—capacity utilisation of power generation units—for gas-based plants in Q1 was almost 25 per cent, up from 15.3 per cent in the year-ago quarter. PLF for gas-based power plants in June this year was 25.8 per cent, up from 17 per cent in June 2023.
Festive offer
For April-July, the PLF for gas-based power plants was 22.2 per cent, against 15 per cent a year ago. Power generation from these units in April-July jumped to 16.17 billion units from 10.54 billion units in the corresponding four months of last year.
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