IGX benchmark gas price up 79% YoY in June amid West Asia crisis

New Delhi: The price of natural gas traded on the Indian Gas Exchange (IGX) rose sharply in June, with its benchmark index climbing nearly 79 percent year-on-year, as the West Asia crisis and the disruption of LNG shipments through the Strait of Hormuz drove Indian consumers towards domestically traded gas.

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Crisis backdrop: Hormuz disruption, force majeure on LNG

US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 led to restrictions on traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, removing close to 20 percent of global LNG supply from the market and triggering sharp price increases across key importing regions. The Asian LNG benchmark spiked about 94 percent during March, according to the World Bank. India, which sources nearly 65 percent of its LNG supplies from West Asia, remained exposed because most Qatari cargoes pass through Hormuz; with suppliers invoking force majeure and diverting cargoes to priority consumers.

GIXI near-flat MoM but up 79% on the year

IGX's benchmark price index, GIXI, stood at Rs 1,767 per MMBtu (USD 18.61) in June, almost flat month-on-month but up 78.72 percent year-on-year.

The exchange recorded a traded gas volume of 8.19 million MMBtu (206.41 MMSCM) during the month, up 103.38 percent from a year earlier but down 23.87 percent from May. A total of 171 trades were executed in June.

Ceiling-price gas dominates as CGDs lean on domestic supply

Domestic gas dominated the month's trade as city gas distributors turned to cheaper ceiling-price supply. According to the exchange, "Approximately 51.03 percent of the traded volume comprised of Domestic HPHT gas at the ceiling price, procured by CGDs for their D-PNG & T-CNG demand, while the remaining 48.97 percent was free market gas."

IGX added that nearly 17.22 MMSCM of domestic gas with pricing freedom was traded by producers at the Bokaro (CBM), Jaya, Suvali and Hazira-ONGC delivery points. Exchange-traded deliveries stood at 9.46 million MMBtu (7.94 MMSCMD) during the month.

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Q1FY27 volume up 48% QoQ

For the first quarter of 2026-27, IGX said traded volume rose to 27.48 million MMBtu (692.70 MMSCM), an increase of 47.94 percent quarter-on-quarter and 11.91 percent year-on-year, on 434 trades. Free market gas made up 52.61 percent of quarterly volumes, with domestic HPHT gas at ceiling price accounting for the remaining 47.39 percent.

Regional price divergence, pricing-freedom gas at CBM points

Among regional indices, GIXI-West was Rs 1,768 per MMBtu (USD 18.62), while GIXI-East fell 1.27 percent. GIXI-Dahej stood at Rs 1,786 per MMBtu (USD 18.81), up 1.34 percent from the previous month.

IGX currently offers trades at 19 delivery points, comprising six LNG terminals, nine domestic gas field land fall points and four pipeline interconnections. The June data precedes a partial normalisation of India's gas market.

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