OREANDA-NEWS. India imported 1.44mn t of LNG in October, up by 3.6pc from September on the back of a new state policy subsidising imports.

LNG imports during April-October, the first seven months of the 2015-16 fiscal year ending 31 March, totalled 9.2mn t and up by 7.4pc from a year earlier, according to the oil ministry. India imported 11.58mn t during 2014-15.

Increased imports in the past few months have been supported by government subsidies to restart gas-fired power plants amid lower international LNG prices, with some recent tenders finalised at around $7/mn Btu. This compares with more than $15/mn Btu that Indian buyers paid a year earlier.

India completed its second round of auctions in August offering more subsidies to import LNG to revive stranded gas-fired power generation units. The second round will lead to imports of 13mn m?/d of imported LNG between 1 October and 31 March, which will help fuel 13 power plants with an installed capacity of 8,262MW. A total of 16 plants made bids, according to the power ministry.

Domestic sales of regasified LNG totalled 62.3 mn m?/d in October, nearly flat against 61.3mn m?/d in September. LNG accounted for around 46pc of India's total gas consumption of around 134mn m?/d in October. Domestic gas sales totalled 71mn m?/d.

India imports around a third of its LNG requirements under spot and short-term contracts, with the rest through a 7.5mn t/yr long-term deal with Qatar.