Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to Petronet LNG Limited Q3 FY 2026 earnings call. As a reminder, all participants' lines will be in the listen-only mode, and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during the conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star, then zero on your touchtone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Nitin Tiwari. Thank you, and over to you.
Thanks, Hina. Good day, ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of PhillipCapital (India) Private Limited, I welcome everyone to today's earnings call. From the management team of Petronet LNG, we have the pleasure of having with us today Shri Saurav Mitra, Director of Finance and CFO, Shri Rakesh Chawla, Executive Director, Finance and Accounts, Shri Gyanendra Kumar Sharma, GGM and President, Marketing, Shri Vivek Mittal, GGM and President, Marketing, Shri Debabrata Satpathy, General Manager, F&A, Shri Vikash Maheshwari, Deputy General Manager, F&A. I will now hand over the floor to the management for their opening remarks, which shall be followed by a question and answer session. Over to you, sir.
Yeah, good morning, I'm Saurav Mitra. Thank you for joining us for the earnings call for the quarter ended 31st December 2025. I'm pleased to share that the company has delivered a strong operational and financial performance during the current quarter, supported by improved capacity utilization and operational efficiencies. During the quarter, the overall LNG volume processed by the company stood at 233 TBtu, reflecting a growth of 2% over both the previous quarter and the corresponding quarter, where volumes stood at 228 TBtu each. At the Dahej terminal, volume throughput during the current quarter was 214 TBtu, compared to 211 TBtu in the previous quarter and 213 TBtu in the corresponding quarter. Capacity utilization at Dahej improved to 94%, up from 92% in the previous quarter and 93% in the corresponding quarter.
At Kochi Terminal, PLL achieved the highest ever capacity utilization of 29% during the current quarter. On the financial front, the company reported PBT of INR 1,144 crores for the quarter, registering a 5% growth over PBT over the previous quarter, which stood at INR 1,083 crores. The PBT of the corresponding quarter stood at INR 1,169 crores. Profit after tax for the quarter stood at INR 848 crores, reflecting a 5% growth over PAT of INR 806 crores in the previous quarter. The PAT in the corresponding quarter was INR 867 crores. For the nine months ended 31st December 2025, Dahej processed 632 TBtu as compared to 686 TBtu during the corresponding nine months.
The overall LNG volume processed by the company during the current nine months stood at 682 TBtu, as against 729 TBtu in the corresponding period. During the current nine months, the company reported a PBT of INR 3,363 crore, compared to INR 3,829 crore in the corresponding nine months. Profit after tax for the current nine months stood at INR 2,505 crore as against INR 2,856 crore in the corresponding period. With this, we open the house for the Q&A session. Thank you.
Thank you very much. We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their touchtone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to use handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. The first question comes from the line of Puneet from HSBC. Please go ahead.
Yeah, thank you so much for the opportunity. My first question is, if you can talk a bit about your, you know, contracts that you signed with ONGC for ethane, et c. What are the broad terms of those? It would be very helpful.
Okay. So first of all, you know, I won't be able to share the commercial terms, because, that is, that those are sensitive information, which I cannot disclose in the public. And, so far as the broad contours of the agreement, I would request Mr. Vivek Mittal, Group General Manager, to speak about it.
So I presume you are referring to the regasification agreement, which we signed recently. So it's a master regas agreement, which is a framework agreement, wherein if ONGC brings cargo, then the terms and conditions, which includes the storage period, what would be the regas charges, what would be the penalty provisions or the take, use of a provision. So all those contours are covered under that agreement. It is a standard agreement like any other regas agreement, which we have signed with the long-term capacity holders. Aim is also that we convert this into a long-term capacity agreement with ONGC. So in that direction, we have signed this framework agreement.
Second question is on the UOP, you know, charges. Is it fair... My understanding correct, that another INR 48.9 crore were due, still stand due end of FY 2025?
Yes, it is INR 49 crore, as you said. That has arisen in CY 2025.
What is the update on the liquidation of the balance dues? Any progress?
As you know that the CY 21 has already been paid up.
Yeah.
For the CY 2022 dues, the due date, it was 31 December. However, the bank guarantees are valid till 31st March.
Okay.
So yeah. The receipts can be done before thirty-first of March. Endeavor is being done for that. And CY 2023, the sunset has not arrived yet, as per the settlement agreement.
Sorry, there's no bank guarantee for 2023, you said?
23 also, most of the customers, we have received the bank guarantees and the contract.
Okay. By March, the 2022 liability should be settled then, right?
Yes.
Lastly, just if you can give that number for service income and any CapEx project that you want to talk about?
Service income has been INR 865 crores.
Okay. Perfect. Thank you so much, and all the best.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Achal Shah from Ambit Capital. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Am I audible?
Yes, sir, you are.
Sir, so latest and long-term data shows that the rival terminals in the similar vicinity to Dahej are not able to ramp up volumes versus PLL Dahej. So, sir, is it because of PLL Dahej having long-term contracts due to better network connectivity, or is it the pricing power? So if you can give a sense of this dynamics, and if any customer wants gas in that area, why the incremental volumes come to Dahej versus the rival terminals?
Okay.
This is question number one, sir.
Okay. So shall we go by.
Yeah, sure.
Question by question? Okay.
Yes.
So, see, you have already answered the question that you have raised. PLL Dahej terminal enjoys some, you know, critical advantages in terms of evacuation. Because any terminal simply having the regas capacity doesn't, you know, cannot function to its fullest capacity and efficiency. So Dahej terminal, the present capacity is 17.5 MMTPA, and we are ramping it up, up to 22.5 MMTPA by the end of this financial year. But it already has evacuation capacity of 35 million metric ton. So this gives an added advantage to Dahej over other competitor terminals, number one. Number two, as we have already said, the pricing. We are one of the, you know, lowest cost operator, and our charges are also one of the lowest in the industry. So the third factor is the storage factor.
You know, Dahej gives a unique facility to all its customers of not only regasification at a very low rate, but also provides them with huge storage capacity. So we have eight tanks over there, and none of the terminals in India are having so much of storage capacity, which gives flexibility to the off-takers in its operations.
Got it, sir. Sir, so can you give a sense of how much time it would take for this incremental 5 MMT ramp up, utilization?
I've already told, we will be mechanically completing the, you know, construction by end of this financial year. Thirty-first March is our target to complete it, mechanical completion.
Sir, what I meant by that is, like, how much, like, how much time it would take for, that five MMT to get utilized? Like, at, let's say, 80% or 90% or 100%.
Okay. So see, LNG business, it's a mix of long-term agreement as well as spot agreements. And it is neither good for any consumer or a country to 100% depend on the long-term agreements or, you know, the spot contracts. So we have kept our facilities for both spot cargos as well as long-term cargos. So in this regard, we are already talking to many of the customers, and these are all at advanced stages. And we have already, you know, experienced that in the last IEW, we have signed, you know, agreements with NGL for, you know, servicing their cargos and buying cargos on their behalf.
So slowly and slowly, we will try to, you know, match the ramp-up capacity, with our, you know, customers,
L ining up customers for better utilization of the terminal.
Sir, just one follow-up here. So is it safe to understand or assume that whatever this five MMT capacity utilization would come from incremental input in India versus taking markets from rival terminals in the similar vicinity? Is it
No, no. You are correct. There is an increasing gas demand, which is evident from the performance of our both the terminals at Dahej and Kochi. So with favorable gas prices, which we are expecting in the coming years, because of you know, lot of liquefaction facilities coming up in Middle East, U.S., Mozambique. So there will be affordable LNG in the market, and it will definitely increase the gas consumption in the country. And we are actually sprucing up our facilities to cater to the incremental demand.
Got it, sir. Sir, my second question is on the EBITDA, or let's say the PBT contribution from these new investments in Petchem, Gopalpur, and the third jetty. So could you give a sense of what could be a broad line numbers for these with respect to financials? Like, we all know the investment and the timelines, but how much contribution at EBITDA level or at a cross margin level are we expecting from these new investments?
Yeah. See, we have maintained that for this petrochemical, we are yet to finalize the commercial contracts. You have seen in the past that we have done a 600 KTPA contract with ONGC. Now, these contracts are being made, so these details are sensitive, and we are not sharing it in any of the forums. That is the reason why it is not being shared. But as and when all the commercial contracts will be done in due course of time, we will come out with the numbers.
Got it.
Mr. Achal? Mr. Shah, you may rejoin the queue for the follow-up question. A reminder to all the participants, please restrict yourselves to two questions. The next question comes from the line of Yogesh Patil from Dolat Capital. Please go ahead.
Thanks for taking my question. Sir, couple of questions. INR 49 crore use or pay will become a part of receivable or it will be treated separately? Need small clarification on this, sir.
Yeah, it will then be decided. See, as on thirty-first December, it is not part of receivable. It is, as you know, that the user pay charges are, charged as a penalty or a LD. So and we recognize the revenue. So the revenue has been recognized right now, and, and it has been, and the due date has not arrived yet, because we have just, issued the invoice, et cetera, communication, et cetera.
Okay, sir, fair enough. Second question on the capital expenditure. How much CapEx we have done in the 9 month, and what is the plan for FY 2026, 2027 and 2028? If you could throw some light on these numbers.
See, we are expecting to have the approximate CapEx of till by March, around INR 3,000+ crore in this year. See, we have targeted as slightly more than that, but due to the Petchem orders in process, we will be restricting our CapEx during the year around INR 3,000 crore. So next year, we are targeting to spend around INR 9,000 crore. Mainly, main outflow will be on account of Petchem and then followed by JT. So, others are very small, small items. The total CapEx outflow will be around INR 9,000 crore.
In FY 2028, it will be the same in the range of INR 9,000 crore?
No. See, in by FY 2028, the, the additional item will be Gopalpur. So we are expecting by that time, Gopalpur construction will also start. And, right now, it will be difficult to estimate the correct number, because most of the CapEx will be ex-cash outflow will be over in case of Petchem, and the addition will be Gopalpur.
Okay.
So net, net as of today, I can tell you only about the next financial year. But overall CapEx should not be more than this in any next year.
Last one from my side. Any discussion or updates on the 7.5 MMTPA capacity for the regas type negotiations with the offtaker? And when can we expect the final conclusion on this matter? Any timeline, if you could provide.
We are working on various business models for it. As of now, I cannot give you a firm timeline, but we are hoping that next six to eight months we'll have a better clarity, and probably, hopefully we would have done some agreements as part of that 7.5 million ton agreement.
But there are number of offtakers. Any one of, you have started negotiations and the things are, taking up?
It is a wide negotiation, it is not separate individual negotiations. So we are already in discussions with the, with all of them, and they're not multiple, they are only three: GAIL, IOC and BPCL, which is the existing agreement also. So in line with that, we are having some discussions. Certain commercial arrangements have already been chosen, certain agreements are yet to be executed.
Thanks a lot, sir, and all the best. Thank you.
On the, just to add on the INR 49 crore use-or-pay dues, that is, the revenue has been recognized, the cash is yet to be received. That's the-
Really helpful, sir. Really helpful.
The next question comes from the line of Pranita Shetty from Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.
Good morning, sir. Thank you for taking my question. I just wanted to understand, is there a bit of discussions when you're on the expanded capacity, when you're having discussions with the potential clientele, is there discussions on they are looking for a longer-term contracts, or are they looking for something more spot in the near term? Or is there any discussions on the regas charge, what you put in? Like, I wanted to understand the impact of competition there, specifically. That's my first question.
As we know, GAIL has always been offering competitive tariffs, so our aim and endeavor will always continue to be that. And in this regard, yes, we are having discussions both on spot, short-term, mid-term, and long-term basis with existing capacity holders as well as new capacity holders. And in that direction only, we recently signed agreement with ONGC, which was currently for spot short-term, but eventually we aim to convert it into a long-term capacity agreement. And regas charges, we have standard regas charges, but there should be certain incentives if they do additional volume. So we are still working on that arrangement.
Right, sir. Thank you. I just wanted to understand any updates on the Gopalpur terminal, what you're setting up, any updated timelines on those? I'm sorry, I missed the earlier part of your initial-
No, no.
Okay. Yeah.
It's okay, no problem. Gopalpur, we are actually in discussion with the Ministry of Environment for environment clearance, and we expect... They had sought certain, certain more clarifications, which we have already submitted, and we expect the results, positive results to come out very soon.
Okay, sir. Thank you. I just wanted an update on petrochemical CapEx as well. I know that you're doing a bulk of the CapEx next year. Is this timelines what we had discussed earlier still stand?
Sorry, can you please come out with the question once?
Once. Oh, one minute. Hello, sir. Am I clearer right now?
Yes.
So in regard to the petrochemical, CapEx, or the PDHPP plant, any update on the commissioning of those projects?
Well, the plant construction is on track, and we expect bulk of the CapEx, you know, during the financial year 2026, 2027.
Commissioning, sir, like, what is the target right now?
Mr. Pranita Shetty, you may rejoin the queue for the follow-up question.
Sure. Thank you.
The next question comes from the line of Somaiah from Avendus Spark. Please go ahead.
Thanks for the opportunity, sir. So first question on the annual escalation that we've taken, the range. So for this year, January, that's been taken, can you please confirm on that?
Yes, it has been taken.
Got it, sir. Sir, also on the utilization front, Kochi, we have been seeing, you know, improvement. It has moved almost to 30% now. So if you can just help us with details in terms of increased reasons for the increased offtake, and also the, Kochi-Bangalore pipeline, the status, and what is your expectation for next year?
So Kochi terminal, you rightly mentioned that there has been increase in offtake, primarily as the price has softened. So there, there was incremental offtake from the existing customers, which primarily include MRPL, OMPL, and Kochi Refinery. So primarily on that account, this was incremental offtake was there. And, as far as pipeline connectivity is concerned, GAIL has been, still maintaining March 2026, but we believe by June 2026, we should be connected to national gas grid to, Kochi, Koottanad, Bangalore, Mangalore pipeline.
Got it, sir. The last question is on this, finally on the expanded capacity. Based on, you know, whatever the contracts or discussions that we had so far, what is our expectation in FY 2027 in terms of utilization of this capacity?
We don't give that at this point of time. As and when the contract is signed up, we'll of course, declare sending notification to SEBI and the NSE and BSE. But at this point of time, we cannot give that.
Okay. Sir, in trading gain and inventory, gain or loss in this quarter?
There has been no trading gain, and inventory gain is INR 27 crore.
Thank you, sir. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Mayur Patel from 360 ONE Asset. Please go ahead.
Yeah, thanks. Some of the questions got answered. Was Kochi, you said June is the pipeline connectivity expected? Thanks for that. Second thing is, given the large CapEx in chem plant for the next year also, is it fair to assume that we'll still be able to maintain around 40% dividend payout?
Yeah, please, can you please repeat the question?
I think our dividend payout has been very healthy in the range of 40%-50% of profits. So given that you said INR 9,000 crore CapEx in petchem would happen in FY 2027. So in FY 2020, and also despite that, we'll be able to manage 40% payout on during?
We have a healthy cash balance carrying in our books. So, we expect to, you know, maintain the similar range of dividends.
Okay. Thank you, sir. And, Gopalpur, is it fair to assume that when we'll start the construction, we'll have some visibility about the evacuation connectivity of pipeline and also the offtaker, at least in principle, demand from the offtakers?
Okay. That's what we are working on. In fact, the aim is to tie up at least some part of the capacity before we start construction. As far as pipeline connectivity is concerned, there is already a Srikakulam-Mangalore pipeline, which is around 30 km from the proposed term location. For that, the connectivity would be done by Petronet, just 30 km, but rest of it is already in place.
Okay. Thanks, Vivek. Thank you. Thanks for your question, gentlemen. That answers.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Hardik Solanki from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.
Thanks for the opportunity, sir. Just want to check on what is the Petchem CapEx till date? And you mentioned that the next year, Petchem CapEx.
Solanki, you are not audible.
Hope now I'm audible.
Yeah, it's better. It's better. Yeah, please go ahead.
The line for Mr. Solanki has been disconnected. We will move forward with the next. The next question comes from the line of Adarsh Sunil, an individual investor. Please go ahead.
Hi, can you hear me okay?
Yes.
Hello?
Yes, please go on.
Hello?
Yes, sir, we can hear you.
Hi, good morning.
Please proceed with your question.
Firstly, congratulations on the great performance. My questions are regarding the Economic Times article. First question was that, with the U.S. trade deal, Petronet might buy LNG from U.S. So given that we already have long-term existing contracts, do we have bargaining power on the price, or will we be buying this at a higher price? Second question, for the gas energy plants in India, at what price does it become feasible for them to use LNG? As, from the article, the usage is pretty low, less than 25%, if I'm not wrong. Third question is regarding the Dahej expansion. At India Energy Week, I was made aware that the five MMTPA additional storage is already in place, so we can expect it to finish by the end of this financial year?
Okay. So, first of all, you know, thank you. Thank you for the compliment. And, secondly, I will come to the point of buying LNG from U.S. Yesterday, during the press meet, our MD has already clarified that such a deal is only possible if, you know, LNG is available at an affordable price. Number two, the second... What was the second question? Can you please repeat?
Regarding the gas, domestic gas, they are not taking, buying a lot of LNG because of the price. So at what price point it becomes favorable for them?
Okay. So, I cannot give you an exact number, over, over, you know, over this call, but definitely, it has to be, you know, competitive with respect to, the other alternative fuel options. Definitely, I'm—when I'm telling alternative, energy options, I'm not comparing it with, coal. But, yes, maybe, if we take the, pricing available today of other alternate fuels, something around, $7-$8 per MMBTU would be, I think, affordable for the power industry to, get up and running.
Got it. Sounds good. And then the Dahej terminal expansion, we are expecting it by the end of this year?
Yes.
End of this financial year?
I have already announced that we will be mechanically completing it by end of this financial year.
Amazing. Amazing. Thank you so much, and best of luck.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Nilesh Kok from HDFC Securities. Please go ahead.
Yeah, just one question from my side. Sir, third-party regasification charges for Q3 FY27, how much it was?
INR 779 crore.
Sorry, sir?
INR 779 crore.
Okay. Thanks. Thanks a lot, sir. That's all from my side.
Thank you. The next follow-up question comes from the line of Hardik Solanki from ICICI. Please go ahead.
Thanks for the opportunity. Sir, what is the CapEx for the Petchem we have spent till date? And you know, as you mentioned, that INR 9,000 crore will be spent in next year. So you know, how the INR 21,000 crore will be spent, spent in next couple of years? Can you just give a timeline on that?... Okay. So.
See, till March 26th, which is currently ongoing, total Petchem outflow will be approximate, say, INR 2,300 crore. Next year, budget year, which is March 26th, say, I think March 27th, Petchem we are expecting around INR 7,500 crore. So here it becomes total around INR 10,000 crore. Total hard cash outflow may not be INR 20,000 crore because it includes soft costs, including interest during construction period, et cetera. Balance will be outflowing next two financial years, because second payment will continue even after commissioning, because second part is stopped. So till March 27th, we are expecting around INR 10,000 crore total Petchem CapEx. When I say INR 9,000 crore total budget, it takes care of JT and other miscellaneous CapEx as well. So INR 7,500 crore around for Petchem and balance for other activities.
Okay. So, so even if we assume, you know, instead of INR 20,000 crore, if the CapEx is INR 15,000 crore, so the next INR 5,000 crore would be in FY 2028, right?
See, right now, the exact breakup, I am not giving anything, but it is around, say, balance will not be even INR 10,000. I told you, it includes interest during construction also-
Okay. Got it.
Other soft costs.
Got it. Got it.
It is.
Hello? Yeah, sir, in terms of the renewal of the contract, just want to know whether the tariff escalation clause will be applicable?
These are commercially sensitive information. We cannot disclose it over this call.
Okay. Okay. Thank you.
It is expected it should be there, and... but we cannot give you any further items on this at this point of time.
Okay, okay. Yeah, thanks.
Thank you. A reminder to all the participants that you may press star and one to ask a question. The next follow-up question comes from the line of Achal Shah from Ambit Capital. Please go ahead.
Sir, can you give a broad sense of the 17 MMT at Dahej? So, how much of this volumes would be price sensitive versus non-price sensitive? And also, though I understand that either they have use or pay or take or pay, but sometimes they don't take the volumes and move to alternative fuels. So can you give a broad sense of this dynamic?
So we have already, as you know, we already have two major agreements. One is for 7.5 million tons and another for 8.25, plus recently we signed 0.5 million tons. So 16.25 million tons is already committed on long-term basis or mid-term basis on firm use or pay or take or pay basis. So in addition to this, we do on spot short-term basis capacity booking, which is on top of the 16.25 out of the 17.5 existing capacity.
So, sir, these long-term contracts are, if I'm not wrong, till 2028, is it?
As you know, the RasGas SPA, which is with Qatar, is till 2028, which has now been renewed for another 20 years, so it runs to 2048. The capacity agreement, most of these capacity agreements are till 2036.
Got it. Okay, thanks.
Thank you. A reminder to all the participants that you may press star and one to ask a question. The next follow-up question comes from the line of Somay from Avendus Spark. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Just a clarification on the Petchem CapEx that you said. So just want to know the total project CapEx, if you could just repeat, and also that INR 7,500 crore, that breakup that you said, if you could just repeat.
The total CapEx approved by the board for the Petchem project is INR 20,685. Okay. Now, this takes care of escalation, depreciation, rupee depreciation, and interest during construction, et cetera. What we are expecting, we have placed almost all the orders for all the long lead items. So we will be spending money wherever deliveries are being received or advanced against actual orders in next one year, current, say, from starting from ourselves. So while we are expecting that, we will be making cash outflow around INR 7,500 crore in the next financial year on account of Petchem only.
Sir, by end of FY 2027, we would have spent INR 10,000 crore out of this INR 20,000 crore-
Yes.
So the remaining has to be in FY 2028, 2029. That's what you are saying, right?
The remaining will be FY 2027, 2028 and 2028, 2029, because after, even after commissioning, certain payments remain pending, which are kept on hold for certain tests, et cetera. So the balance payment will spill over in next two financial years.
Got it, sir. Thanks for the clarification, sir. Also, on other projects, specifically Gopalpur, if you could just help us, the expected CapEx there and the cash outflow will begin from FY 2028 onwards.
See, as already declared, told by our director of finance, that Gopalpur construction will start immediately after certain clearances are pending. So the cash outflow will start immediately, immediately thereafter.
So within this INR 9,000 crore of CapEx that for FY 2027-75 that is for Petchem? And what is the expectation for Gopalpur in FY 2021?
Balance is approximately INR 800 crore budgeted for jetty, third jetty, which is under construction.
Okay.
This will also be completing during this year. Can you hear? Hello.
Understood. Understood, sir. You said 800 for the-
Uh.
the balance portion of the jetty, and then.
Yes.
For Gopalpur in FY 2027. So just looking at the total CapEx for Gopalpur, and the majority of that will start in maybe FY 2028. Is that the right understanding?
Major CapEx on Gopalpur will be in FY 2028.
Okay. Okay. And the total project CapEx, sir, if you could just...?
Jetty, you can rectify. It is around INR 600 crore, not INR 800 crore, budgeted for 2026-2027.
Okay, sir. The Gopalpur CapEx, the total CapEx for Gopalpur.
See, Gopalpur total CapEx, as scheme approved is more than around INR 6,000 crore.
Okay, got it. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Indra Kumar Gupta from PL Capital. Please go ahead.
Am I audible?
Yes.
Yes, sir, you are.
Yeah, just one clarification. I missed that part. So CapEx in FY 2026 end will be INR 3,000 crore?
Approx, yes.
One more question. Can you please provide some guidance in terms of volumes in FY 2027 and FY 2028, if possible?
We don't know, as of now, you know the firm contracts, which we have already given in the previous question. So as of now, our guidance is based on the capacity booked. However, we are making endeavors to book additional capacity and prices often, we are very hopeful that that volume should increase.
Okay. Thank you.
Thank you. The next follow-up question comes from the line of Achal Shah from Ambit Capital. Please go ahead.
Sir, thanks for taking the follow-up. So, sir, in case this pipeline at Kochi terminal, near Kochi terminal, gets resolved, and the connectivity opens up, where do you see the incremental demand coming from? Is it the CGDs in near Bangalore, or is it the industrial sector near that area? So, can you give a broad sense of how much offtake increasing at Kochi terminal because of this bottleneck getting resolved?
Yeah, Mr. G.K. Sharma, please reply.
Thank you. Your question is quite valid, but let me give a perspective to it. Once it is connected with the national gas grid, number one, part of the question you yourself has answered. Once it is the CGD demand, as you know, it is going to be minimum, minimum four to five -fold in the next four to five years. And apart from that, you may be aware of, for CGDs, major flywheel of CNG and domestic PNG demand, irrespective of where they are, the Zone 1 tariff of INR 54 will be applicable. So it doesn't matter which CGD, in which part of the country is, the demand needs to be met. And Kochi terminal, once connected, so it will be catering to the demand of whole country, number one.
Number two, as you and all of us are aware of, it is expected LNG prices are going to soften in the next five to seven years, owing to the capacity build-up from supplier side. And as we know, other geographical regions across the world are either saturated or maybe not having that, economic growth, which whole world is, talking about, around 6%-8% growth, consistent growth of India, leading to energy consumption. Virtually, more than 40% incremental energy consumption is expected to come from, India. Because of all these reasons, as we know, it is energy, whichever means is cost effective and ready to propel and fuel the growth, sustainable growth. And such kind of lethal combination, perhaps India is at the cusp of the opportunity available, in the world.
Jaisa bolte hain ki kainaat, jab aapka saath dene lagti hai, so like universe is favoring India at this opportune time. And, gas demand is expected to more than double in the next five to seven years. So of course, CGD will be the major demand center, but given the softening of LNG prices, India itself is having readymade demand of 25 million tons of strong power. Apart from multiple refineries and petrochemical plants are under expansion, and India's capacity build-up of petrochemical itself is likely to double. And as you know, they have the dual facility of either burning their naphtha or gas... considering jet prices softening, we are expecting refineries, petrochemical, power, apart from CGD. Every sector will contribute hugely, and with India is coming big way, and its growth engine will be fed by gas, LNG.
Petronet will be one of the beneficiaries, having the infrastructure already readily available and enhancing its infrastructure at Dahej, as well as we are coming at Gopalpur. I hope I could answer not only to the point question, the larger context. India is going to beneficiary, where the government will be the major contributor.
Sir, just one follow-up here is that, can you give some specific guidance with respect to, let's say, Kochi terminal getting connected with the grid, and then, incrementally, how much will come from CGD, assuming it is in zone one, and versus, let's say, LNG, where there is still that doubt that if spot LNG price is moderate, then utilizations improve. So, if some specific guidance with respect to Kochi terminal utilization getting improved, that would be really helpful.
Even the existing capacity of five million tons will fall short. As I told you, CGD demand is going to be multiple fold. So I particularly answer this question: fourfold C-CGD demand increasing. It is the Kochi terminal, even I think, I'm not allowed to say, given the opportunity, we should be in a position to even further expand this terminal. Of course, I'm not giving any speculation, but India's capacity is going to grow.
Okay, sir. Thanks. Thanks a lot for the full clarity.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, that was the last question for today. I would now like to hand the conference over to management for closing remarks.
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