中文
According to data from the Indian Petroleum Planning and Analysis Centre(PPAC),India’s natural gas import costs increased by 17.2%year-on-year from April to January in fiscal year 2025,reaching$12.9 billion,higher than the$11 billion in the same period last year.In January alone,import costs reached 1.3 billion US dollars,a year-on-year increase of 8.3%.This growth is mainly due to a significant increase in natural gas consumption.
In the first 10 months of fiscal year 2025,India imported 31.347 billion standard cubic meters of liquefied natural gas(LNG),an increase of 21%compared to the same period in fiscal year 2024.Analysts point out that demand growth and stable global natural gas prices are the main reasons driving the increase in import volume.India’s natural gas consumption increased by 10%to 61282 million standard cubic meters,mainly driven by the growth in demand from urban gas distribution(CGD),fertilizer,and electricity industries.
Despite a significant increase in imports,India’s domestic natural gas production only grew slightly by 2.6%.The state-owned oil and gas company(ONGC)produced 15763 million cubic meters of natural gas during this period,lower than last year’s 16189 million cubic meters.Domestic supply failed to meet demand,resulting in an increase in dependence on imported natural gas from 46.5%in the same period of the previous fiscal year to 51.2%.
The International Energy Agency(IEA)predicts that the growth rate of India’s liquefied natural gas imports will slow down from 21%in 2024 to 10%in 2025,due to slower demand growth and intensified competition in the global liquefied natural gas market.However,India’s natural gas demand is expected to increase by 8%,equivalent to an increase of 6 billion cubic meters,mainly driven by the growth of energy demand and rapid economic development.
In 2024,India will become the fourth largest importer of liquefied natural gas in the world,accounting for 7%of global imports.The industrial and refining industries are the main driving forces,followed by the residential,commercial,and transportation industries.The Indian government plans to increase the share of natural gas in the energy structure from 6%to 15%by 2030,and analysts believe that increasing natural gas imports from the United States is an important measure to achieve this goal.