IEW 2026: India's 2026 LNG imports may rise to 29 mil mt: Petronet LNG CEO

India's 2026 LNG imports could rise to 28 million-29 million metric tons/year amid strong demand, Petronet LNG Limited Managing Director and CEO Akshay Kumar Singh said Jan. 28.

The country's LNG import forecast for 2025 stood around 25.5 million mt/year, Singh shared during a media briefing at India Energy Week 2026 in Goa.

On Jan. 27, PLL signed a master agreement for the sale of regasified LNG with Mahanagar Gas Ltd. According to Singh, more city gas distribution players could be interested in similar arrangements.

Separately, in a Jan. 28 panel discussion, Singh said: "Everybody is looking towards India for LNG consumption."

By 2030, India aims to increase the share of natural gas in its primary energy mix by 15%.

"Today, we are able to be 50% domestic and 50% import in the form of LNG," Singh said, adding that India imports half of its natural gas requirement because domestic production is limited.

Moving forward, if India aspires to achieve its 15% goal, it will require more than 100 million mt/year of LNG, Singh said. "So, there is going to be a substantial increase," Singh said.

According to Singh, the world is struggling with the energy trilemma, which presents three conflicting hurdles: energy security, affordability, and environmental sustainability. And India is not immune to these challenges, Singh said.

However, on infrastructure related to providing natural gas access to consumers, India is "moving quite nicely," Singh said.

India's LNG terminal capacity is expanding from the current 52.5 million mt/year, Singh said. However, only around 50% is being utilized, said Singh. In the next three to four years, India is expected to add another 20 million mt/year of regas capacity, Singh said.

So, utilization at LNG import terminals can be increased, Singh said.

A huge volume of LNG supply is expected to come to the market from countries including the US and Qatar, Singh said, adding that increased supplies would make LNG more affordable. It would also curb the volatility witnessed in global LNG markets over the past three to four years, Singh said.

"Volatility is not good for anybody, be it for producers, suppliers, or consumers," Singh said.

"We expect that this addition is going to stabilize prices," he added.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed the March JKM, the benchmark price for LNG cargoes delivered to Northeast Asia, at $11.674/MMBtu on Jan. 28, down 3.6 cents/MMBtu from the previous session. It assessed the LNG West India Marker, or WIM, for March at $11.524/MMBtu on Jan. 28, at a discount of 15 cents/MMBtu to the March JKM assessment.