India begins gas import from US

Tribune News Service/PTI

New Delhi, March 6 

After crude oil, India today began importing natural gas from the US, with the first shipment of LNG under a 20-year deal being flagged off from Louisiana.

GAIL India has contracted 3.5 million tonnes per annum of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass liquefaction facility in Louisiana.

Last October, India imported its first shipment of crude oil from the US. The US had stopped oil exports in 1975, a ban lifted by former US President Barack Obama in 2015.

GAIL had signed a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with the US LNG exporter Cheniere Energy in December 2011. The SPA went into effect on March 1. Under terms of the agreement, Cheniere will sell and make available for delivery to GAIL about 3.5 million tonnes a year of LNG.

Cheniere’s LNG is based on natural gas sourced from the US market, which provides access to abundant and low-cost gas resources.