India’s top liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer Petronet reported Tuesday a 6% quarter-on-quarter decline in LNG imports through its regasification terminals in Gujarat and Kerala, Kallanish Energy reports.

The company said it processed 219 trillion British thermal units (TBtu) of LNG in the first quarter of 2020, compared with 233 TBtu in the fourth quarter of 2019. On an annual basis, however, volumes were up 6.82% from 205 TBtu imported in the same period last year.

The Dahej terminal processed 206 TBtu of the total imports reported by the company. In the last financial year (which ended on March 31) the facility located in the western Gujarat state ran on 103% of its nameplate capacity.

Yet, the top LNG importer noted operations of the company “were uninterrupted” during the national lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, “as natural gas is declared as one of the essential commodities by the government of India.”

Petronet also said it’s currently revising the regasification tariffs for its Kochi terminal in Kerala as requested by customers. It doesn’t expect the revised price “to be materially different from the offered tariff,” the company said, adding the changes should have no major impacts.

Finance director Vinod Kumar told an analyst conference call that the company is trying to appeal to Qatargas and ExxonMobil’s rejection of force majeure notifications given by Petronet earlier this year. (See related story)

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