Petronet LNG Q2 profit zooms 82%

Petronet LNG Ltd, the nation’s largest importer of liquid gas on Thursday reported its highest ever quarterly net profit at Rs 460 crore in September quarter on back of record volumes of gas handled. 

Net profit of Rs 460 crore in July-September is 82 per cent higher than Rs 253 crore net profit in the same period a year ago, company CEO and MD Prabhat Singh said here. 

“We processed highest ever natural gas of 189 trillion British thermal units in second quarter, up from 157 TBtus last year.” The firm completed expansion of its Dahej LNG import terminal in Gujarat to 15 million tonnes from previous 10 million tonnes. 

Its 5 million-tonne Kochi terminal in Kerala is operating at 7 per cent capacity as a key pipeline connecting it to customers is not yet ready. Kochi processed 4 TBtus of imported gas. “The Dahej expansion was completed ahead of schedule. The regassification facility was commissioned on August 4 and the storages were commissioned on October 17,” he said. 

The commissioning was scheduled for November-end. LNG is natural gas super-cooled to turn it into liquid for ease of transporting in ships. This liquid fuel at the import terminal is first turned back into its gaseous stage, before it is sent to consumer through pipelines.