Indian Petronet Reports Record Quarterly Profit

India’s biggest LNG importer Petronet LNG has reported its highest ever quarterly profit during the quarter that ended on September 30, 2016 as volumes reached 189 trillion Btu, also a record.

The company has reported a net profit of rupees 4.6bn ($70mn) during the quarter, up 82% on year. “The reason for this significant increase in profit over the comparative quarters is higher volumes processed and better efficiency,” Petronet said November 18.

The Dahej terminal operated at more than its nameplate capacity. The volume of 185 trillion Btu regasified at the terminal is a 12% increase as compared with previous quarter and a 21% increase as compared with the corresponding quarter of 2015. The capacity of the terminal was recently expanded from 10mn metric tons/yr to 15mn mt/yr. Meanwhile, its Kochi terminal continued to be grossly underutilised, owing to lack of pipeline connectivity, as it processed only 4 trillion Btu of LNG.

India’s LNG imports this year have risen as buyers have taken advantage of low global prices. Reliance Group's oil and gas chief AK Balyan recently said India may end up importing 2.5mn metric tons extra LNG this calendar year. 

Shardul Sharma