New Delhi: Deepak Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of GAIL (India) Limited, named diversification as a key pillar of the company's approach to liquefied natural gas (LNG) at Gastech 2026 in Bangkok. According to a statement GAIL issued on Tuesday, Gupta "highlighted diversification as a key pillar of GAIL's approach to navigating an increasingly dynamic LNG environment."
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The statement set out what that diversification involves. "Expanding sourcing across geographies, enhancing trading capabilities and making greater use of spot cargoes can provide the flexibility needed to respond to changing market conditions," it said. Spot cargoes are single shipments bought outside long-term supply contracts.
Gupta made the remarks on a Strategic Conference panel titled "The New LNG Order: Leadership Strategies for Energy Security and Growth." He shared the stage with three other speakers: Olalekan Ogunleye, Executive Vice President for Gas, Power and New Energy at Nigeria's NNPC Limited, Jaffee Arizon Suardin, Director of Integrated Logistics and Infrastructure at Indonesia's Pertamina, and Sue-Ern Tan, Head of the International Energy Agency's (IEA) Regional Cooperation Centre. Amena Bakr, Head of Middle East and OPEC+ Insights at Kpler, moderated the session. Gastech 2026 runs in Bangkok from September 14 to 17.
The panel looked at the pressures reshaping the global LNG trade. According to GAIL, these ranged "from changing supply routes and geopolitical developments to evolving demand patterns, affordability considerations and the growing need for flexibility across the LNG value chain."
Two contract terms came up as ways to make supply more resilient. "The discussion also underscored the importance of destination flexibility and diversified pricing/indexation structures in strengthening supply resilience while keeping LNG accessible and competitive," the statement said. Destination flexibility lets a buyer send a cargo to a market other than the one named in the contract. Indexation refers to the benchmark an LNG price is linked to.
Demand is the other side of the market GAIL expects to change. "As new LNG projects commissioned over the past decade add to global supply and consumption patterns continue to evolve, understanding emerging demand centres will be critical to shaping the next phase of the LNG market," the statement said.
For India, the statement expects LNG to stay central. "For India and other emerging Asian economies, LNG is expected to remain an important enabler of energy security, economic growth and the transition towards a lower-emission energy mix," it said.
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GAIL said its own priorities follow the same line. The company "remains focused on building a diversified and resilient LNG portfolio, expanding its global partnerships and strengthening its presence across the LNG value chain," according to the statement.
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