India’s GAIL Diverts LNG Cargo as Monsoon Cuts Power Demand
(Reuters) — GAIL (India) Ltd. has re-sold one liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo this week, said three market sources on Friday, as the state-run firm's storage tanks for the fuel are full amid weak power demand in India.
Fewer LNG imports by GAIL, the country's largest gas distributor, could reduce India's overall appetite for the super-chilled fuel. India is the world's fourth largest LNG buyer, importing about 26 million metric tons last year as it goes through rapid urbanization and industrialization and to meet growing power demand.
However, GAIL's LNG tanks are filled to the brim as power demand slumped due to cooler weather from the monsoon season, leading the company to sell its LNG cargo, said two of the sources.
GAIL did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The three sources did not identify which cargo GAIL sold, but ship tracking data shows two LNG vessels controlled by GAIL diverting from their routes this week.
LNG tanker Gail Urja, which is currently in the southern Atlantic Ocean, was en-route to reach the Dahej terminal in India on June 21 before it made a U-turn on June 5 to head to the Gate LNG terminal in the Netherlands, Kpler data showed. The vessel loaded LNG at Cove Point, Maryland, in the United States on May 21-22, Kpler and LSEG data showed.
GAIL has a 20-year deal to lift 2.3 million metric tons per annum of LNG from Cove Point. It typically takes about four weeks for LNG tankers to travel from Cove Point to India.
Meanwhile another LNG tanker, Grace Emilia, has changed its course several times around Reunion Island and Mauritius since June 2, the data showed. The vessel is now heading towards Asia.
India's weather office had forecast an above-average monsoon season for the second straight year in 2025, with annual rains arriving at their earliest in 16 years.
The early monsoons had alleviated sweltering temperatures nationwide at the end of summer, with a sharp drop in temperatures cutting electricity consumption and briefly pushing down prices to near zero on power exchanges.
Increased generation from hydropower and nuclear had also led to a decline in natural gas-fired power output, which in May fell at the steepest rate in nearly three years.
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