(FE)
India on Monday received its first ever cargo of LNG from Russia under a long-term deal in a bid to make India a gas-based economy. India, which is world’s fourth-largest buyer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), aims to diversify its energy import basket, which is dominated by coal and oil. As the cargo reached Dahej in Gujarat, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told reporters that the Narendra Modi government is committed to Paris Accord of carbon-emissions reduction and aims to make India a “gas-based economy.”
Giving the example of Gujarat, Dharmendra Pradhan said that the government aims to diversify its energy basket, in which the share of gas can be moved up from current 7-8% to 24% like in the state. “Carbon emissions should be reduced even though India is not a major pollutant,” the oil minister said. The first LNG cargo from Russia follows the import of first cargo from the United States under the long-term deal. In March, the US LNG cargo arrived at the Dabhol port in Maharashtra.
GAIL has renegotiated with Russian supplier Gazprom the terms of the 20-year deal to import 2.5 million tonnes a year of LNG, PTI reported. Under the re-worked deal with Gazprom, the duration of the contract has been extended by three years and the Indian company has agreed to buy an additional six million tonnes of LNG volumes.
