India Deal-making Could Shake Up Asian LNG Markets
Royal Dutch Shell the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer, said last month it had installed an LNG loading facility for trucks at its 5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) LNG import terminal at Hazira, a major port on India’s east coast. India’s oil minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, said the unit would create natural gas availability in the country’s off-grid areas where no gas pipelines exist. He added that it would promote the use of LNG in the country’s long-haul trucking sector. India’s LNG development plans Shell’s move comes as India tries to pivot from an economy largely based on coal to more gas, including a major LNG infrastructure build-out. New Delhi recently earmarked gas to make up at least 15 percent of the country’s energy mix by 2030 from just 6.2 percent currently. India bypassed legacy LNG importer Taiwan several years ago to become the world’s fourth-largest importer of the fuel. In 2019, India imported 1.2 trillion cubic feet worth of LNG – around seven percent of global trade – and a 25-percent increase over 2017 levels, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. After initial procurement contraction in early 2020 due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, India took advantage of multi-year low spot prices – coming from both a prolonged overhang of the fuel, due to ramped-up production in the U.S. and Australia, as well as continued demand destruction from the pandemic. India commissioned its sixth LNG import terminal last year, and it has four more under construction that are expected to come online by 2023. Its terminal expansion coincides with the country trying to put in place a major gas pipeline grid to cover around two-thirds of the country. India’s LNG and gas development has also given it considerable bargaining power with producers as it tries to move away from pricing based on oil-indexation to term deals based on spot prices – a new development in LNG contracting. However, a challenge for India’s plan to change LNG pricing dynamics came in January when LNG spot prices in the region breached the US$30 per million British thermal unit (MMBtu) price point. Colder winter temperatures slammed north Asia, creating a gas supply crunch in top LNG importers Japan and China. Going forward, India will have to decide whether it wants term supply deals using an industry standard oil-indexation formula, or a mix of oil and spot price indexation as well as shorter-term flexible pricing against other benchmarks. India’s largest importer, Petronet LNG (NSE: PETRONET), has already been trying to renegotiate prices reached under long-term deals with Qatar. Lower spot prices over the past two years made such long-term deals unattractive. In 2019, Petronet signed a memorandum of understanding to buy a US$2.5 billion stake in Tellurian’s proposed Driftwood project in Louisiana, including importing 5 mtpa of LNG. However, a deal could not be reached before its terms expired at the end of December, prompting some analysts to concede that India’s inconsistency in LNG markets could tarnish its reputation in future deals. Given the ongoing supply overhang in LNG markets that will now be extended even further due to demand destruction from the COVID-19 pandemic, India still has a plethora of producers to choose from as well as a growing list of LNG trading houses that are now starting to also offer term deals. Timely domestic production Production at India’s first ultra-deep water gas field that could help the country reduce its dependence on energy imports got underway in December. Mumbai-based Reliance Industries Ltd. and oil and gas major BP started producing first gas at the country’s initial ultra-deep water gas field, the R Cluster in block KG D6, some 37 miles (60 kilometers) off the country’s east coast. The field, the first of three in the same block, is expected to produce 12.9 million standard cubic meters per day (MMscmd) of gas this year. The first field by itself will meet around 10 percent of India’s gas needs. At peak production, all three KG D6 fields are expected to produce around 30 MMscmd (1 billion cubic feet per day) by 2023, representing 25 percent of India’s domestic gas production and meeting around 15 percent of the country’s projected gas demand by that time period.
Cairn Oil & Gas seeks bids for gas from Rajasthan block
Mining magnate Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta Ltd on Monday invited bids for the sale of natural gas from its prolific Rajasthan block at rates equivalent to the price of imported LNG from the spot market or Brent oil price. Cairn Oil & Gas, Vedanta’s oil and gas arm, produces about 3.5 million standard cubic meters per day of gas from its largely oil-bearing block in Rajasthan, the firm said in a notice. The output is being ramped-up to more than 5 mmscmd. “The company invites Expression of Interest (EoI) from interested parties with proven capabilities and demonstrated presence in the natural gas business to participate in the national competitive e-auction process for the purchase of natural gas produced from our flagship block in Barmer, Rajasthan,” it said. It invited bids for 4.5 mmscmd of gas for two years from the RJ-ON-90/1 block. The price of gas will be lower of the previous month’s average of DES West India spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices or 14 per cent of the average Brent crude oil price. Platts West India Marker (WIM) is the LNG price assessment for spot physical cargoes of delivered ex-ship (DES) into ports in India and the Middle East region. The rate currently is USD 6.2 per million British thermal unit. Brent crude oil price is over USD 63 and at the current rate, the gas price would come to USD 8.8 per mmBtu. “The sales gas price for any month shall not be lower than the government of India declared gas price,” the notice said. The government every six months announces a price for the gas produced by state-owned gas produces ONGC and Oil India Ltd. That rate currently is USD 1.79 per mmBtu for the period up to March 31, 2021. The gas sales price of Platts LNG WIM for any month or average Brent price will be exclusive of all applicable taxes, duties, transportation tariffs and marketing margin which may be payable by the buyer, the company said. This is the first time a producer is seeking bids linked to the imported price of LNG from the spot or current market. All previous price discoveries for gas produced within the country have either been linked to crude oil or to a gas marker. Reliance Industries and its partner BP Plc of UK earlier this month sold 7.5 mmscmd of gas from their KG-D6 block off the east coast, at a price linked to JKM or Japan/Korea LNG import price. The price bid came to JKM minus 0.18. They had sold the first 5 mmscmd of gas from the new discoveries in the block in November 0219 at the price linked to Brent price. Essar Steel, Adani Group and state-owned GAIL had bought the majority of the initial 5 mmscmd of gas planned to be produced from R-Series in the KG-D6 block by bidding between 8.5 and 8.6 per cent of dated Brent price. Reliance had in 2017 sold coal gas from its Sohagpur CBM block in Madhya Pradesh at a benchmarked rate at 12.67 per cent of JCC, or Japan Customs-Cleared Crude, plus a fixed component. Cairn Oil & Gas produced 132,174 barrels of oil and oil equivalent gas from the Rajasthan block in the October-December quarter, the company had said last month. This was 9 per cent lower than the output in the previous year. Raageshwari – the gas field in the Barmer block – averaged 130.0 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) in Q3 FY21, with gas sales post captive consumption at 105.0 mmscfd, it had said.
PM Modi to launch key projects of oil and gas sector in Tamil Nadu
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate to the nation and lay the foundation of key projects of the oil and gas sector in Tamil Nadu on February 17. An official release said Prime Minister will dedicate Ramanathapuram – Thoothukudi natural gas pipeline and Gasoline Desulphurisation Unit at Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited, Manali. He will also lay the foundation stone of Cauvery Basin Refinery at Nagapattinam. The release said these projects will result in substantial socio-economic benefits and will boost the country’s march towards ‘Urja Aatmanirbharta’. Governor and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, and Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas will also be present on the occasion. The Ramanathapuram-Thoothukudi section (143 km) of the Ennore- Thiruvallur- Bengaluru- Puducherry- Nagapattinam- Madurai- Tuticorin Natural Gas Pipeline has been laid at the cost of about Rs 700 crore. It will help utilise gas from ONGC gas fields and deliver natural gas as feedstock to industries and other commercial customers. The Gasoline Desulphurisation Unit at Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL), Manali has been constructed at the cost of about Rs. 500 crore. It will produce low sulphur (less than 8 ppm) environment-friendly gasoline, help reduce emission and contribute towards a cleaner environment, the release said. The Cauvery Basin Refinery to be set up at Nagapattinam will have a capacity of 9 million metric tonnes per annum. It will be set up through a Joint Venture of IOCL and CPCL at an estimated project cost of Rs 31,500 crore. It will produce motor spirit and diesel meeting BS-VI specifications and polypropylene as a value-added product. The Prime Minister will address the event at 4:30 pm on Wednesday via video conferencing.
India shifts oil imports from Middle East to Africa, North America due to OPEC cuts
India’s refiners are turning to spot oil from Africa and North America as long-term suppliers in the Middle East cut output and as demand for gasoline jumps amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Spot crude imports into the world’s third-largest oil market will rise by 10 per cent to 15 per cent this year from 2020, according to industry consultant FGE. The increased purchases are coming as India’s top suppliers, including Saudi Arabia and Iraq, curtail output as part of the OPEC+ pact. The shift underscores how other producers are benefiting from the cuts as consumption returns in markets like India. It’s been especially good to exporters like the U.S. and Nigeria, whose crude produces more gasoline that’s in high demand as the pandemic pushes people to private cars instead of public transport. “The pullback from traditional term suppliers came when refiners maximized throughput to align with the robust domestic demand recovery,” said Senthil Kumaran, FGE’s head of South Asia oil. “They were forced to scramble for spot supplies to bridge the shortfall.” Bharat Petroleum Corp., India’s second biggest state-owned refiner, has increased the proportion of spot crude purchases to about 45 per cent from about 30 per cent normally, according to Finance Director N. Vijayagopal. The company plans to keep spot about 40 per cent of supply in at least the medium term. “We are trying to increase the proportion of spot in the overall basket,” Vijayagopal said. BPCL boosted refinery runs to 113 per cent in January, and the other major state-owned refiners, Indian Oil Corp. and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. are also operating above capacity, company officials said. While demand for gasoline and liquid petroleum gas for cooking has surged, diesel’s rebound has been slower and jet fuel consumption is still half of what it was a year ago as most international routes remain shut. That’s leading to a shift in where India is sourcing its barrels. Middle East oil tends to yield more diesel, while crude from the North Sea, West Africa and U.S. shale fields usually produce more LPG and gasoline. Crude imports from Nigeria in December jumped 68 per cent from the previous year, while U.S. oil purchases surged almost 77 per cent, according to government data. “Gasoline demand growth is expected to sustain, because once you are used to private commuting, it’s difficult to shift back to public transport,” Hindustan Petroleum Chairman Mukesh Kumar Surana said. “Refineries will explore all possibilities to increase gasoline production.” The Organization of Petroleum Export Countries and partners like Russia began a record output cut of 9.7 million barrels a day last year after the coronavirus pandemic battered demand. Some of that production has returned, but Saudi Arabia is making additional cuts in February and March to add stability to the market. India, one of the biggest buyers of OPEC crude, has already expressed displeasure at the cuts. The policy is “creating confusion for the consuming countries,” India’s Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo last month. OPEC+ members are unlikely to change its production policy at their next meeting on March 4, and will probably agree to keep output steady in April, Iraq’s Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar said. And as long as people in India want to travel in private cars and cook at home, the strong spot purchases should continue, according to FGE. “They will continue to import lighter grades as long as the economics allow them to do so,” Kumaran said.
ONGC to scale up KG basin gas output this year
India’s top oil and gas producer ONGC on Monday said it will scale up natural gas production from a KG basin block to 2.5-3 million standard cubic meters per day by May this year and will hit the peak output sometime in 2023-24. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) last year started gas production from the USD 5.07 billion KG-DWN-98/2 project in the Krishna Godavari basin, off the east coast of India. “Gas production from Cluster-II has started as it is currently producing 320,000 standard cubic meters per day. May onwards, it will ramp up to 2.5-3 mmscmd,” ONGC Director (Finance) Subhash Kumar said in an investor call. The output in the fiscal year beginning April (2021-22) is projected to average 3.4 mmscmd and 8.5 mmscmd in the following year. “We are cautious in committing to any targets but 2023 or 2024 is a likely scenario for peak production,” he said. ONGC is investing USD 5.07 billion in bringing to production a clutch of discoveries in the deep-sea block, also known as KG-D6. The block sits next to the KG-D6 discovery area of Reliance Industries Ltd and BP Plc. The project will cumulatively produce around 25 million tonnes of oil and 45 billion cubic meters of gas with peak production of 78,000 barrels per day of oil and 15 million standard cubic meters per day. ONGC started gas production from the project on schedule in early 2020 but the start of oil production has been delayed due to the outbreak of pandemic which disrupted global supply chains, he said. Crude oil production would start once a floating oil production unit, called an FPSO, is mobilised. Associated natural gas from Cluster 2A of this project will have a peak production of 3 mmscmd of gas and 78,000 barrels of crude oil per day with a 15-year profile; non-associated natural gas from Cluster 2B will have a peak free gas production of 12.25 mmscmd with a 16-year profile. Oil production from the block is expected to start in the next financial year. The project KG-DWN-98/2 involves some of the most advanced oil field technologies in drilling and completion of 34 subsea wells, laying about 425 km of pipeline and 150 km of control umbilical in water depths varying from 300 to 1,400 meters. On prices, Kumar said ONGC’s breakeven cost for oil production is USD 50 per barrel and for gas is USD 3.50-3.70 per million British thermal unit. The firm can pay dividends to its shareholders if it realises a price upwards of USD 55 a barrel for oil and USD 5 per mmBtu for gas, he said. While currently, the company gets international rates for oil, the government fixes the price for natural gas. The gas price for six months to March 31 is USD 1.79 per mmBtu. Gas prices, he said, are at a record low and the company makes losses on the gas business. ONGC will produce 22.97 million tonnes of crude oil in the next fiscal as compared to 22-22.5 million tonnes in the current financial year ending March 31.
Petroleum Minister justifies fuel price hike
A combination of factors, including increased investment in development of basic infrastructure, had resulted in the frequent increase in fuel prices in the country, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Steel Dharmendra Pradhan told mediapersons here on Saturday. The road and rail sectors got the highest ever allocation in the recent Union Budget. There was a 34% increase in allocation for infrastructure projects. The tax collected from the sale of fuel is among the sources garnering revenue for that. Another priority area is welfare projects. Around 80% of India’s fuel is imported and oil-producing countries are demanding a higher price, since their economies are not in good shape. However, oil-producing countries had announced future pricing mechanisms where they had given some relief to Asian countries like India, he added. On why the government had invested ₹60 billion in a petrochemicals complex at the Kochi Refinery (which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday), even as BPCL’s disinvestment process was on, Mr. Pradhan said the project would help the process of India becoming self-sufficient, for instance, in the manufacture of paints, where ₹40 billion worth of items were imported every year. The private sector had much to offer, he said, citing the example of the Cochin International Airport, the first airport in the country to be built on public-private partnership model. “Air travellers are thus getting good quality service from the airport, at affordable cost.” On Hibi Eden, MP, approaching the Lok Sabha Speaker citing breach of privilege and protocol violation over him being omitted from the dais when the Prime Minister would launch four projects in Kochi on Sunday, the Minister said he had written to Mr. Eden. The MP had said that people’s representatives from the Congress were “deliberately omitted from the dais as part of a conspiracy” and that it showed that the BJP was “hand in glove” with the CPI(M). Ro-ro vessels Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the two container roll-on roll-off (ro-ro) vessels of the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), that Mr. Modi would launch in Kochi on Sunday, would play a role in taking container lorries off city roads by helping ferry containers through the backwaters and National Waterway III. Coastal shipping promoted by the Centre was also important in decongesting roads, he added. The vessels cost ₹125 million each and were built at the Cochin Shipyard. The IWAI has handed them over to Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC) for operation. Each of the vessels, m.v. Adi Shankara and m.v. C.V. Raman, has a capacity to carry six 20-ft trucks, three 20-ft trailer trucks, three 40-ft trailer trucks and 30 passengers.
Gulf expat exodus could continue until 2023, S&P says
The population in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states declined by about 4% last year due to an exodus of expatriates after the coronavirus crisis and lower oil prices, S&P Global Ratings said in a report on Monday. The oil producing region was hit hard last year as COVID-19 restrictions impacted non-oil economic sectors, and lower oil prices and crude output cuts weighed on its main income source. “We expect the proportion of foreigners in the region will continue to decline through 2023 relative to the national population, because of subdued non-oil sector growth and workforce nationalization policies,” S&P said. Gulf states rely heavily on foreign workers in sectors ranging from financial services to healthcare and construction, but efforts to nationalise the workforce to fight rising unemployment among nationals have accelerated in recent years. The overall GCC population is unlikely to return to 2019 levels of 57.6 million people until 2023, S&P said. “These changes could have repercussions for the regional economy and pose additional challenges to diversifying away from its heavy reliance on the hydrocarbon sector in the long run, if not met with economic and social reforms that foster human capital,” it said. S&P estimated the sharpest population decline last year occurred in Dubai, the Middle East business hub, where the impact of the pandemic on key employment sectors like aviation, tourism and retail led to an 8.4% population decline. In Oman, where the government has in recent weeks intensified a long-standing policy, known as Omanisation, to create employment for its citizens, the expat population declined by about 12% last year, the agency said. The region’s largest economy, Saudi Arabia, saw its population shrink by 2.8% last year, and S&P estimates a growth of 0.8% by 2023. The agency expects oil prices to remain at $50 per barrel this and next year, and to rise to $55 from 2023. “As these levels are below the fiscal breakeven oil price for all GCC sovereigns except Qatar, we expect governments will moderate public investment spending, which is the main impetus of non-oil growth in the region,” it said.
ONGC takes leaf out of Reliance’s book, floats subsidiary to buy own gas
Taking a leaf out of Reliance Industries Ltd’s playbook, state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is forming a new subsidiary for gas business that could be used to bid and buy gas from the firm’s own fields. The board of ONGC at its meeting on February 13 approved creation of a new wholly-owned subsidiary company for gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) business value chain subject to necessary approvals, according to the firm’s third quarter earnings announcement. “The company is being formed with the objective of sourcing, marketing and trading of natural gas, LNG business, Hydrogen enriched CNG (HCNG), gas to power business, bio-energy/ bio-gas/ bio methane/ other biofuels business, etc,” it said. ONGC may use the new subsidiary to buy any new gas that the firm produces from fields such as KG-D5 in the Krishna Godavari basin, people with direct knowledge of the matter said. The government had in October 2020 allowed affiliates of gas producers to buy the fuel in open auction. This policy change allowed Reliance to buy two-thirds out of the additional 7.5 million standard cubic metres per day of gas it along with partner BP plc of UK plans to produce this year from the new fields in KG-D6 block. “ONGC too can look at this option now. The new subsidiary can participate in any auction that ONGC will do for incremental gas from KG-D5 block,” a source said. Besides ensuring competition and fair price discovery, the ONGC subsidiary can then sell the gas so sourced to firms such as Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) at a margin. This would help ONGC earn better margins on the gas produced. “Right now gas is a loss-making business for ONGC. The government controls gas price which is less than cost of production,” the source said. The government has fixed a price of USD 1.79 per million British thermal unit for ONGC’s fields. This is half of the cost of production. It allows a higher rate of USD 4.06 per mmBtu for difficult fields such as deepsea fields (KG-D6 and KG-D6) but even that is less than the cost of production from highly capital intensive projects. The current regulation means even if Reliance discovered a price equivalent of USD 6-7 per mmBtu for the 7.5 mmscmd of new gas from KG-D6, it would get only USD 4.06 till March 31. The same would apply for ONGC. It might discover a rate higher for the 15 mmscmd incremental gas planned from KG-D5 block but it can get only USD 4.06 as per current price. “So, essentially the ONGC’s gas subsidiary can bid and buy KG-D5 gas. It will pay ONGC USD 4.06 per mmBtu but can sell to MRPL or any other customer at a price higher than that, ensuring that the gas business becomes a viable proposition,” the source said. The government has given operators the freedom to discover market prices but this rate is subject to a pricing ceiling or cap that the government notifies every six months. The cap for six months to March 31, 2021 is USD 4.06 per mmBtu. In the February 5 auction, Reliance O2C Limited, an affiliate of Reliance Industries Ltd, picked up 4.8 mmscmd out of the 7.5 mmscmd gas auctioned. State gas utility GAIL (India) Ltd won 0.85 mmscmd of supplies while Shell picked up 0.7 mmscmd. Adani Total Gas Ltd got 0.1 mmscmd, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) 0.2 mmscmd and Torrest Gas 0.02 mmscmd. Other buyers included IRM Energy (0.1 mmscmd), PIL (0.35 mmscmd) and IGS (0.35 mmscmd), they said. Sources said the gas was bought at a price of USD 0.18 per million British thermal unit discount to JKM (Japan/Korea liquefied natural gas import price), that is price of JKM (minus) USD 0.18 with tenures ranging from 3 to 5 years. Reliance O2C is the new unit that holds the firm’s refinery and petrochemical assets. Earlier in November 2019, 5 mmscmd of natural gas was sold at a price in the range of around 8.6 per cent of Brent crude oil for tenure ranging from 2 to 6 years. That gas went to buyers like Essar Steel, Adani Group and state-owned GAIL. Reliance-BP started production of gas on December 18 last year from the R Cluster ultra-deep-water gas field in block KG-D6 off the east coast of India. The duo are developing three deep-water gas projects in block KG-D6 — R Cluster, Satellites Cluster and MJ — which together are expected to meet around 15 per cent of India’s gas demand by 2023. ONGC is developing a set of discoveries in the KG-D5 block which sits next to Reliance’s D6 area. ONGC’s fields, which began production last year at a limited rate of 1 mmscmd, are estimated to have peak production rates of 16 mmsmd of natural gas and 80,000 barrels per day of oil.
Oil hits 13-months highs on fears of Middle East tensions
Oil prices soared on Monday to their highest in about 13 months as fears of heightened tensions in the Middle East prompted fresh buying, while hopes that a U.S. stimulus and an easing of lockdowns will buoy fuel demand provided support. Brent crude was up $1.09, or 1.8%, at $63.52 a barrel at 0428 GMT, after climbing to a session high of $63.76, the highest since Jan. 22, 2020. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained $1.28, or 2.2%, to $60.75 a barrel. It touched the highest since Jan. 8 last year of $60.95 earlier in the session. Oil prices gained around 5% last week. The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said late on Sunday it intercepted and destroyed an explosive-laden drone fired by the Iran-aligned Houthi group toward the kingdom, state TV reported, raising fears of fresh Middle East tensions. “An early spike in oil markets was triggered by the news,” said Kazuhiko Saito, chief analyst at commodities broker Fujitomi Co. “But the rally was also driven by growing hopes that a U.S. stimulus and easing of lockdowns will boost the economy and fuel demand,” he said. WTI may be pulled back by profit-taking as it reached a key $60 level, he added. U.S. President Joe Biden pushed for the first major legislative achievement of his term on Friday, turning to a bipartisan group of local officials for help on his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan. Oil prices have rallied over recent weeks also as supplies tighten, due largely to production cuts from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allied producers in the group OPEC+. “On top of that, robust global stock markets boosted investors’ risk appetite,” said Satoru Yoshida, a commodity analyst with Rakuten Securities. Asian shares advanced to record highs on Monday as successful coronavirus vaccine rollouts globally raise hopes of a rapid economic recovery amid new fiscal aid from Washington. “With cheap money supply amid monetary easing worldwide, swift rollout of the vaccine and tight supply from OPEC+ and U.S. shale oil producers, crude oil prices may be headed toward $70 a barrel,” Yoshida said.
Indraprastha Gas Q3 results: Net profit rises 18 per cent to Rs 3.35 billion
Indraprastha Gas Ltd on Wednesday reported a 18 per cent rise in December quarter net profit after city gas sales recovered after easing of coronavirus lockdown restrictions. Standalone net profit in October-December at Rs 3.3487 billion compared with Rs 2.8359 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal, the company said in a statement. IGL retails compressed natural gas(CNG) to automobiles and piped natural gas (PNG) for cooking purposes for household and as fuel to industries in the national capital and adjoining towns such as Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad. “Both physical and financial performance of the company reflect a strong recovery after the second quarter due to gradual easing of restrictions and beginning of f unlock period leading to increased economic activity. Sales have picked up steadily and presently have touched pre-lockdown levels,” it said. “The numbers showed strong resurgence from the impact of lockdown in the first half of the fiscal,” the company added. IGL sold 6.26 million standard cubic metres per day of gas during the quarter as most of the lockdown restrictions started getting relaxed except reopening of educational institutions. Total gross sales were lower at Rs 15.8736 billion against Rs 18.3116 billion during the third quarter of FY’20.