China’s LNG Imports Slump to 5-Year Low
Liquefied natural gas imports to China slumped to the lowest since 2020 in February, at 4.5 million tons, Kpler data showed, as reported by Bloomberg. A relatively warm February contributed to the weaker demand, which led to China slipping to the global number-two spot in LNG imports, overtaken by energy-hungry Japan. In addition to the weather, demand in China was also weaker due to lower industrial activity and ample gas in storage. Last year, China saw a surge in LNG and pipeline gas imports as it sought to fill its storage caverns. Over just the first half of the year, total natural gas imports saw an annual increase of 14.3%, reaching 64.65 million tons. After the rush to fill storage, imports of natural gas weakened as facilities were full at capacity. Meanwhile, the introduction of a 15% retaliatory tariff on U.S. imports of LNG, on the other hand, would affect future flows of the energy commodity from and into the world’s largest energy importer. The tariffs, triggered by President Trump’s introduction of an additional 10% tariff on all Chinese imports into the United States, are widely expected to affect global energy markets. China may stop buying U.S. LNG on the spot market and seek to swap American cargoes from elsewhere after the tariffs went into effect. Chinese gas buyers could also become more hesitant to commit to long-term contractual supply for U.S. LNG from projects expected to make final investment decisions in the coming years, analysts and industry representatives say. If the U.S.-China trade dispute escalates, Chinese buyers may not be willing to enter into long-term agreements to buy American energy. This could undermine one of the top priorities of the Trump Administration – boosting LNG exports to reduce the U.S. trade deficit and increase geopolitical influence.
Government Headhunter Fails to Find BPCL CEO
After HPCL, the government headhunter struggled to find a suitable candidate for the top job at Bharat Petroleum, as most applicants were narrow specialists lacking multidisciplinary experience needed to run a large organisation. The Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB) last month interviewed a dozen candidates including BPCL Director (Finance) Vetsa Ramakrishna Gupta and its Director (Refineries) S Khanna but found none suitable for the job of chairman and managing director of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), according to a PESB order. It advised the administrative ministry “to choose an appropriate course of further action for selection including the search cum selection committee,” according to the order. Incumbent G Krishnakumar superannuates as chairman and managing director of BPCL on April 30 this year. BPCL is the fourth company in the oil sector where PESB couldn’t find a suitable candidate since 2021. PESB in May 2023 did not make any recommendation for the top post at Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and the task was then entrusted to a search cum selection committee. That panel picked Arvindar Singh Sahney who was appointed chairman of IOC in November 2024. In June last year, PESB interviewed eight candidates, including a director on HPCL board and managing director of Indraprastha Gas Ltd, for the post of chairman and managing director at HPCL but rejected them all. HPCL top position has been lying vacant since August 31, 2024, when Pushp Kumar Joshi superannuated. Previously in June 2021, PESB reached a similar conclusion while looking for a candidate for the top job at Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). A year later, a search-cum-selection committee picked Arun Kumar Singh, the former chairman and managing director of BPCL, for that job.
Study Hints At Hydrocarbon Reserves In B’putra North Bank
A pioneering research by a team of energy exploration experts has found promising hydrocarbon potential in the north of the Brahmaputra, defying traditional assumptions that oil and gas reserves in the state were limited to its southern parts. This has come at a time when the hydrocarbon-rich state is poised for major expansion in its energy sector with Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself pitching for energy investments in the state, which delivers 50% of India’s onshore natural gas, at the recently held Advantage Assam 2.0 investment and infrastructure summit. The state has signed MoUs worth Rs 850 billion investment commitments for hydrocarbon exploration in the state over the next five years from OIL, ONGC and Cairn Oil & Gas, Vedanta Ltd. Dr Annapurna Boruah, senior associate professor at the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES), Dehradun, alongside Dr Sumit Verma, associate professor at the University of Texas Permian Basin (USA), Dr Gaurav Gairola, a researcher from KAUST Saudi Arabia, Anuj Gogoi, and Dr Abdul Rasheed, a scientist from the Gujarat Energy Research and Management Institute (GERMI), carried out the study from 2019 and the findings indicate the presence of hydrocarbon reserves in the northern part of Assam. “Until now, all of Assam’s commercially producing oil fields were concentrated in the southern part of the Brahmaputra. This discovery, however, suggests untapped reserves in the north bank, sparking fresh hopes for new energy exploration ventures,” Dr Boruah told TOI adding, Assam’s Himalayan foothill regions including particular areas of Gohpur, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji have hydrocarbon potential. “In the foothill regions extraordinary observations were made — many gas seepages were analysed which are flowing continuously over many years. This finding, along with the presence of active gas seepages, strengthens the case for potential hydrocarbon reserves in the region,’ she said.