LNG-by-truck lifeline for Mundra terminal
Hardly used, the outlook is improving for Gujarat's stranded Mundra terminal, with more LNG going out by truck than ever before.
"In 2023-24, we sent out 647 trucks carrying LNG to customers," says a GSPC source. Mundra began operations on March 1 (2020), with LNG-by-truck deliveries beginning in October 2021.
By March 31 (2024), GSPC had sent out 846 truckloads in total from a single loading bay. However, overall capacity utilisation remains far below expectations.
"In 2023-24, Mundra’s capacity utilisation was 15%, and the overall capacity utilisation since the terminal started stands at 22%," we hear. In 2023-24, Mundra received 13 cargoes, and the total cargoes received until March 31 (2024) was just 71.
Meanwhile, GSPC has reported marginal improvement in gas trading volumes. In 2022-23, gas trading volumes stood at 11.51m cm/d.
"In 2023-24, the volumes improved to 11.61m cm/d though volatility continued in the global gas market along with increasing competition in the Indian market," adds our GSPC source. Also, in 2023-24, GSPC successfully bid for domestic gas from the KG basin and Rajasthan, adding 2.04m cm/d of competitively priced gas to its sourcing portfolio with terms ranging from 15 days to five years.
This includes 230,000 cm/d from Reliance’s offshore KG-DWN-98/3 (D-6) block; and another 490,000cm/d also from KG-DWN-98/3. GSPC secured 90,000 cm/d from Vedanta’s RJ-ON-90/1 block, while subsidiary company GSPC Energy secured 1.23m cm/d from the same Vedanta block.
During the same year, GSPC negotiated term extensions until 2028 with state-owned fertiliser factories for over 2m cm/d on a firm basis. "We were also successful in marketing 500,000 cm/d to four new customers for terms ranging from one to five years," we hear.
These customers are BSE-listed Deepak Fertilisers, glass manufacturer Vishakha Glass, Piramal Glass and well-known detergent manufacturer Nirma. GSPC sourced seven cargoes from Adnoc LNG during the year and received a customs duty rebate of 2.75%.
"Adnoc's cargoes are cheaper by 2.75% straight away because of a government-to-government deal (the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) signed on February 18, 2022)," we learn.