India’s imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US surged to an all-time high of 252.28 trillion cubic feet, or roughly 7.14 billion cubic meters (BCM), during 11M 2024.
According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), India’s LNG imports from the US rose by more than 71 per cent Y-o-Y during 11M 2024. Compared to the entire 2023 calendar year (CY), the imports were higher by 53.5 per cent.
The previous high was registered in 2021 when India imported 5.56 BCM of LNG from the North American country. The import volume during December 2024 is yet to be updated, which will take the share even higher, albeit marginally.
According to the world LNG report 2024, the US overtook the UAE as India’s second largest LNG supplier in 2023 calendar year, after Qatar.
Kenneth Foo, Associate Editorial Director at S&P Global Commodity Insights, told businessline in July 2024 that the US was the stand-out exporter in the global LNG market in 2023, overtaking Qatar and Australia with strong growth in liquefaction capacity.
“With India at closer proximity via the Cape of Good Hope for US LNG cargoes compared to North Asia, sellers were more incentivised to sell volumes to India to save freight costs. The ongoing US long term contracts signed by Indian entities also continued to underpin LNG consumption,” he added.
Rising US share
As per the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), India’s LNG imports during 2024 stood at around 36.43 BCM with GECF accounting for 72.71 per cent, while non-GECF countries cornered 28.29 per cent, which is their highest share on record.
GECF members are Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, UAE and Venezuela. Angola, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mozambique, Peru and Senegal hold observer status.
Besides the US, the non-GECF countries include Australia, Indonesia, Oman, Brunei, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Norway and Cameroon.
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The previous high was in 2021 when non-GECF countries’ share hit 25.33 per cent out of the total LNG imports of 33.79 BCM.
GECF, which represents some of the world’s top natural gas exporting countries, accounts for the largest share of purchases by the world’s fourth largest LNG importer.
However, rising imports from the US to India have helped increase the share of non-GECF countries in 2024, a year the North American country retained the title of the world’s largest exporter for the second consecutive year.
A comparison of the US EIA data with that from the GECF suggests that the US accounts for the biggest share among the non-GECF countries.
Among the non-GECF countries, the share of the US in LNG exports to India stood at 64.59 per cent in 2021, which fell to 58.61 per cent a year later. However in 2023, its share rose to more than 70.50 per cent.
In 2024, it further surged to a record 71.83 per cent counting just the imports during January-November (Taken from the US EIA).
India’s energy basket
India’s LNG imports from the US are likely to grow further considering the recent meeting between US president Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has already indicated that oil and gas purchases from the US can grow to $25 billion annually from around $15 billion last year.
In a response shared with businessline last week, Ashwin Jacob, Partner and Energy, Resources & Industrial Industry Leader at Deloitte India, pointed out the US has emerged as the predominant LNG exporter in recent times, thanks to the fact that it produces a large quantity of ‘associated gas’, which it exports at very competitive commercial terms.
“Given India’s thrust towards increasing gas in its energy basket, the commitment from both countries to grow US gas exports to India will be good for ensuring energy security,” he added.
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