Naphtha, LNG imports on the rise as domestic supply fails to meet demand

04 Apr 2011 Evaluate

Naphtha imports have seen a progressive increase since late last year as the power developers grapple with a drop in natural gas output from the country's biggest gas fields in the East Coast. In February, the imports surged over 80 per cent year-on-year to 186,000 tones.  Since November, naphtha imports have consistently been in this range almost corresponding with the decline in output from Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL)-operated D6 gas fields in the Krishna-Godavari Basin.

This shortage has also prompted the gas-based power plants, especially in Andhra Pradesh, to buy expensive imported gas (LNG) to meet the electricity demands, amid a sharp spike in spot electricity prices in the Southern Grid to Rs 10-12/unit over the last couple of months.

Amid the shortfall in gas availability, GAIL (India) Ltd, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Reliance Gas Transportation Infrastructure Ltd (RGTIL), and power plants in Andhra Pradesh in mid-March agreed to swap D6 gas with LNG. This will enable supply of additional 2.594 mscmd gas to plants in Andhra Pradesh, which could translate into increased power production of almost 600 MW (12 million units a day). The price of D6 gas is $4.2/mBtu (at landfall point), R-LNG is priced at about $10/mBtu (at the landfall point), while naphtha is in the range of $880-890/tone (excluding the levies).

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