Arpit Chandna, an energy specialist at Refinitiv, a London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) company, told Sputnik India that both Russia and India appeared inclined to the prospect of "swap contracts" as opposed to traditional long-term contracts.
"Being a major LNG importer, India has traditionally been buying LNG on long-term contracts (LTCs) basis. But recent price parities have provided a lot of purchase and swap contracts options to be used for procurements," Arpit stated.
While the current amounts of Russian LNG exports to India are at a minimal level, there is a growing interest in the Indian market to source Russian LNG supplies, as evidenced by recent pacts between Indian (Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corporation Limited, Spacenet Enterprises) and Russian energy companies.
Russian Outlook on Global LNG Trade
Chandna noted that the Arctic LNG 2 Project was developed primarily to sell gas to Indian and other Asian buyers, adding that its production capacity was around 19.8 million metric tons per annum (MMTPA).
"Russia's January-August 2024 exports surged by 7.3% from 20.7 MMT. In August, Russian month-on-month LNG exports jumped by over 30%," Arpit said.
"These statistics indicate that although Western sanctions are restrictive majors to constrain Russia, buyers are still considerate in importing needed volumes. Russia has been clear that Western sanctions are illegal and undermine the global LNG trade," Chandna forecast.