Unlike other members of the Quad countries, India has not imposed sanctions on Russia.
Unlike other members of the Quad countries, India has not imposed sanctions on Russia.
India’s biggest gas transmitter GAIL set to buy Russian oil and gas assets, rejected by western companies Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine If the deal makes commercial sense, the company’s chairman Manoj Jain said on Friday.
European countries and the United States have imposed heavy sanctions on Russia since Moscow sent troops to Ukraine on February 24, and the European Union proposed its toughest package of penalties, including a crude oil embargo, in six months.
India has tried to balance its ties with Russia and the West but it has not imposed sanctions on Russia, unlike other members of the Quad countries – the United States, Japan and Australia.
“Why would no one say” [to Russian assets] If it makes business sense,” Mr. Jain told reporters at a post-earnings press conference. GAIL reported 39% growth in quarterly profit.
GAIL is looking to procure gas from challenging local areas to meet the growing local demand for natural gas, including long-term Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) import deals with global companies.
Mr Jain said GAIL is looking for a 10-year deal to import 1 million tonnes of LNG annually.
Natural gas buyers in Asia are seeking to lock in supply through longer-term contracts as a buffer against volatile global prices, which will reverse the rising spot buying trend of the past decade.
GAIL has entered into a long-term gas import deal with Gazprom Marketing & Trading Singapore to buy an average of 2.5 million tonnes per annum.
As part of the deal, Gazprom is progressively increasing supplies to GAIL, and shipped 2 million tonnes of LNG in 2021. The supply will increase to 2.5 million tonnes in 2022 and 2.85 million tonnes in 2023, a company official said on the sidelines of the conference.
Gazprom has informed GAIL that it is facing issues in procuring gas and has asked to reschedule a liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo, Mr Jain said, adding that the Russian company Can supply committed amounts from its portfolio of assets.
Mr Jain said GAIL’s natural gas imports may increase by 5-6% in this financial year till March 2023, adding that he expects LNG prices to be higher for the next 12-18 months.
Asian spot LNG prices have fallen nearly 50% from an all-time high in December, but are nearly three times above the levels seen in May 2021 as prices rallied on tight global supplies.