India’s first gas trading hub launched

India launched its first gas trading exchange on June 15, 2020, enabling local and foreign players such as Shell, Vitol and Trafigura to sell directly to domestic customers. India is expanding its gas infrastructure, including connecting households to the gas pipe network, as it aims to raise the share of gas in its energy mix from the current 6.2 per cent to 15 per cent by 2030. The country’s current daily consumption of gas, which is less polluting than other fossil fuels such as coal and oil, is about 165 million cubic metres, of which 47 per cent is met through imported liquefied natural gas (LNG). The India Gas Exchange offers spot and forward contracts at Dahej and Hazira in western Gujarat and Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh. Currently, global traders sell LNG to Indian clients through companies such as Peronet LNG, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), GAIL (India) Limited, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation. Shell is the only foreign company that sells directly to customers through its LNG terminal at Hazira.