India’s gas demand to pre-disruption levels in June, Equirus reports

The Story in Brief

India's natural gas consumption recovered to near pre-disruption levels in June, reaching 197 million metric standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd), according to a report by Equirus. This marks a 7% month-on-month and 2% year-on-year increase, driven entirely by imported LNG, which rose 13% month-on-month and 10% year-on-year to 110 mmscmd. Domestic gas supply remained flat month-on-month at 87 mmscmd and declined 8% year-on-year, pushing India's import dependence to 56%.

The June demand growth was broad-based, led by city gas distribution (CGD), miscellaneous users, and refineries. CGD consumption rose 2.3 mmscmd to 58 mmscmd, while refinery consumption increased by 2.6 mmscmd to 15 mmscmd. However, Equirus cautioned that July demand may soften slightly due to lower power consumption, and August could see further weakness from seasonal factors and reduced Morbi-related demand. The report also noted a significant shift in India's LNG sourcing, with the US becoming the largest supplier as Qatar volumes collapsed by 91% year-on-year. Asian spot LNG prices remain elevated above $20 per million British thermal units, and stronger Chinese buying is intensifying competition for flexible cargoes.