New Delhi, 30 March - Neftegaz.RU. India received its 1st LNG cargo from the US under a long-term supply deal on 30 March, 2018, when a ship carrying super-cooled natural gas arrived at Dabhol, the city of India's biggest gas-fired power plant in Maharashtra.
Speaking on the event, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan, said: «The arrival of the 1st LNG cargo from the US was a significant milestone in the direction of realising adequate availability of natural gas through imports from diversified sources. A shift towards a gas based economy would require augmenting domestic production as well as imports.»
A charter ship arrived at Dabhol after 25 days voyage from Louisiana, state-owned gas utility GAIL India said in a press statement. GAIL India has contracted 3.5 million tonnes per annum of LNG from US energy firm Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass liquefaction facility in Louisiana.
The shipment is part of the two 20-year LNG supply agreements worth around $32 billion for US LNG Exports, signed by GAIL with the Dominion Energy Cove Point project in Maryland and the Cheniere Energy Inc.'s Sabine Pass Project in Louisiana.
Today's LNG shipment is expected to set the stage for the upcoming visit by US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry for the upcoming US-India Strategic Partnership meeting scheduled next month (April).
