India Increases LNG Imports

India imported 22.2 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in 2023, which is +8% year-on-year. But as India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry clarified, imports were still below the 2021 results, when Indian importers bought 24.4 million tons of LNG.

India is actively developing relations with Middle Eastern hydrocarbon producers, with about 50% of the total LNG volume supplied by Qatar (10.9 million tons). The USA and the UAE sold 3 million tons of LNG to India (14% each).

So far, Russian LNG supplies are very scarce: during all of 2023, India purchased only one shipment of liquefied gas produced by the NOVATEK Group’s Yamal LNG plants. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that India’s gas consumption is set to increase by another 6% in 2024, driven by growing domestic demand from industry (power generation, chemical fertilizer production).