LNG

GAIL India, the state-owned LNG importer and natural gas pipeline grid and city-gas operator, increased net profits though gas marketing earnings declined.

GAIL India Ltd., the state-owned LNG importer and natural gas pipeline grid and city-gas operator, reported a halving of net profits for the fiscal year as Russian LNG supplies resumed and it considered taking a stake in a US export project.

Gas Authority of India, the grid and natural gas pipelines operator and the second-largest importer of LNG after Petronet, has just brought in a new Managing Director and Chairman at a time when Indian energy strategies are expected to be revised with a more urgent focus on natural gas.

Gas Authority of India (GAIL), the nation’s main natural gas pipeline operator and a leading LNG importer with US volumes from Cove Point in Maryland and also contracted from Russia’s Gazprom, reported record results and aimed to tie-up more gas supplies under contract to cover growing demand.

Indian liquefied natural gas imports dropped for a third month, though by a lesser amount that the previous two months as the costs of LNG shipments soared, though falling volumes were again offset by offshore domestic natural gas pipeline supplies on the East Coast.

Indian liquefied natural gas imports plunged more than 21 percent, even more than in the previous month, as the costs of LNG shipments soared, though volumes were offset by offshore domestic natural gas pipeline supplies on the East Coast that jumped more than 24 percent.

Trelleborg of Sweden, a maker of liquefied natural gas transfer and mooring equipment, has received certification from the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization of India as the Asian nation moves to develop more LNG terminals on the East and West Coasts with highest-grade safety standards.

Trelleborg said its marine Quick Release Hook mooring systems received the certificate from the body that sets the rules for equipment containing electrical systems at new or upgraded LNG facilities in the country.

The certification signifies Trelleborg is now the largest accredited docking and mooring equipment manufacturer in the region.

“We set out on a 12-month initiative with our certification agent and support from key supply chain partners, to record technical documentation regarding all electrical systems and enclosures needed to be assessed for hazardous area operation suitability,” said Richard Hepworth, President of Trelleborg’s marine and infrastructure operations.

“As a result, we are delighted that Trelleborg Quick Release Hook mooring systems are now certified for use in the Indian market, and are therefore fully compliant with Indian laws and regulations that govern the operation of LNG facilities,” added Hepworth.

“As the largest accredited docking and mooring equipment manufacturer, customers in the region requiring Quick Release Hooks can be confident that our equipment is certified and meets all safety standards,” he stated.

Hepworth noted that the accreditation means that engineering companies and LNG terminal owners in India can avoid unforeseen budget overruns and schedule delays due to compliance issues.

Safety is paramount across the oil and gas industry with a particular focus in the LNG sector.

Transportation of combustible materials must be managed carefully to avoid the release of gases or vapors into the environment, which can potentially result in explosions, serious injury to personnel and damage to equipment and assets in the surrounding area.

“Trelleborg applies this philosophy at every interface across the LNG transfer chain,” said the company.

“Building on decades of experience in the LNG industry, Trelleborg is an experienced and reliable partner to optimize the business model of any LNG transfer operation and support safe, efficient and cost-effective performance,” it added.

“With standards and guidelines for equipment utilized in port operations developed by industry bodies in many countries and regions, it is vital that operators ensure their terminals meet the highest safety standards anywhere in the world,” Trelleborg declared.

A company in Nagpur, one of the main cities in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, has set up the nation’s first commercial liquefied natural gas filling station for LNG-powered vehicles.

The LNG station is owned by Shree Baidyanath, an Indian group specializing in medicines, food and cosmetics distribution and making its first foray into the energy sector.

The first Indian LNG station open to the public was inaugurated in Nagpur on July 11.

It is located on the outer ring road towards Dighori and can serve LNG-powered cars, trucks or buses.

At present, four of India’s LNG import terminals have truck-loading stations for contracted customers, but cannot service random members of the public.

“This is the first-ever in the country to operate on a commercial basis,” said Subbarao Vaddadi, director of B-LNG, the fuel division of the Baidyanath group.

Baidyanath’s branching out into LNG was supported by the Indian Transportation Minister Nitin Gadkari, who is also a member of parliament in New Dehli for the City for Nagpur.

The Minister was looking for local companies to come forward and set up the LNG station and the Baidyanath group agreed to invest in the project.

“The station is operational and can take 60 vehicles a day for the pump to operate feasibly,” said B-LNG’s Vaddadi.

The Baidyanath group said it also had plans to convert 120 vehicles in Nagpur, including buses and trucks, to run on LNG.

The company said that LNG is being promoted as a cleaner alternative to diesel and the price of the LNG fuel at the Nagpur station would be lower than the current market price to encourage uptake of LNG fuel for transport.

LNG terminal truck-loading is available at India’s biggest terminal, the Dahej facility in the West Coast state of Gujarat and owned by Petronet LNG, as well as Petronet’s Kochi terminal in Kerala and the Hazira and Mundra terminals in the northwest.

LNG as a fuel for transport has been slow to take off in India even in the midst of increasing urban pollution problems.

In June 2021 the state of Kerala started a trial of LNG-powered buses in the first stage of a possible nationwide roll-out.

The LNG and the buses are being supplied to the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) by Kochi LNG terminal owner Petronet.

The KSRTC has also drawn up plans to convert several hundred diesel-fuelled buses to LNG.

Indian liquefied natural gas imports last month surged more than 9 percent along with domestic natural gas production, up more than 19 percent, as economic activity proved to be more resilient as the nation emerged from the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

India’s liquefied natural gas imports edged higher for the first month in four, along with domestic gas production, as a new LNG import facility on the West Coast is being commissioned to boost delivery capability amid the nation’s slow economic recovery from the ongoing effects of Covid-19.