India’s Gail to shut Dabhol LNG terminal for monsoon

Indian state-controlled gas distributor Gail is planning to shut its 5mn t/yr Dabhol LNG terminal on the west coast from 15 May, ahead of monsoon rains.

Gail will also stop importing LNG from mid-May at the terminal, a company official told Argus. This is because of the lack of a breakwater facility at the terminal, which prevents it from anchoring ships in turbulent seas. The breakwater facility was expected to be completed in January, but the cause of the delay is unknown.

The terminal is likely to resume operations from the end of September, similar to its plans in 2023, as this shutdown over the monsoon season is routine.

Gail is set to receive a total of 139,635t LNG at the Dabhol terminal in May, which will arrive in two separate shipments from the US' 5.75mn t/yr Cove Point export facility. Both cargoes will be the last that the terminal will receive before it shuts in mid-May. It has received 583,326t of LNG at the terminal since the beginning of the year, lower by 4pc on the year, data from market analytics firm Kpler show.

The Dabhol terminal only receives about 2.9mn t/yr of LNG, despite having a nameplate capacity of 5mn t/yr, because it is not used during the monsoon season. Gail intends to gradually increase the capacity of the Dabhol terminal to 12mn t/yr by April 2030–March 2031.

By Rituparna Ghosh