India's GAIL will run Dabhol LNG Terminal during the monsoon season, plans expansion

Indian gas transporter GAIL (India) will operate its 5 million-tonnes-per-year liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in western India during the monsoon season for the first time, after completing a breakwater facility, Chairman Sandeep Kumar Gupta said.

To avoid high tides, the company usually closes the Ratnagiri Terminal -- also known as Dabhol LNG Plant -- for four consecutive months starting on May 25 of each year. Now, the new breakwater allows ships to arrive during monsoon.

"Our breakwater is complete. We applied to the authorities for an all-weather terminal status and are hoping to receive authorisation within a week. We will then schedule LNG cargoes in accordance with this," Gupta told a press briefing.

Separately GAIL's director of business development Rajeev Kumar Singhal stated that the company intends to expand Dabhol’s capacity to 6.3 millions tonnes per annum by mid-2027 and to 12.5 by 2031.

He said that GAIL had received five bids for a U.S. project to purchase a stake, along with a long-term supply contract of LNG.

Indian companies are increasingly looking for U.S. LNG that is linked to Henry Hub prices in order to reduce their exposure to oil-indexed contracts which dominate their portfolios.

Gupta stated that Henry Hub-linked prices for LNG are expected to be between $3.5 and $4 per million British Thermal Units, making the purchase of LNG affordable by Indian customers on a "free-on-board" basis.

(source: Reuters)