New Delhi: India’s reference gas price index, Gas IndeX of India (GIXI), has registered a considerable hike in March 2025 to Rs 1,214 or $14 per MMBtu. It is a 38 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth and 9 per cent increase on a month-on-month (MoM) basis, spurred significantly by increased European demand for gas due to lingering winter conditions, announced on Monday.
Report indicated, as in line with international price movements, European and Asian gas benchmarks continued to trade high on a YoY basis but weakened marginally against February 2025.
Dutch TTF traded at $13.3/MMBtu — 56 per cent higher YoY but 14 per cent lower MoM — while West India Marker (WIM) traded at $14.2/MMBtu, 42 per cent higher YoY and 12 per cent lower MoM (ex-Dahej). Conversely, the U.S. marker Henry Hub (HH) rose sharply to $4.1/MMBtu, posting a YoY growth of 133 per cent and 11 per cent MoM growth.
Regionally, GIXI-West tracked the national average, while GIXI-East trailed by 8 per cent, fixing at Rs 1,120 or $12.9 per MMBtu due to variations in transmission costs.
GIXI-North was slightly lower by 1 per cent at Rs 1,200 or $13.8 per MMBtu. GIXI-Dahej was at Rs 1,203 or $13.9 per MMBtu in March 2025, up 8 per cent MoM. Pointedly, Dahej was priced at a 14 per cent discount ($2/MMBtu) versus WIM’s settled price during the same time.
The Indian Gas Exchange (IGX) exchanged 5.2 million MMBtu (131 MMSCM) of natural gas in March 2025 — a whopping 367 per cent YoY. Of the overall volume, 84 per cent consisted of domestic High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) gas marketed at the government-fixed ceiling price of Rs 883 or $10.16/MMBtu, and 16 per cent was from the free market.
An additional 0.2 million MMBtu of gas with pricing freedom was traded from delivery points such as Bokaro (CBM), Suvali, KG Basin, and ONGC Hazira. The exchange recorded 256 trades in the month, with active delivery stations being Mhaskal, Gadimoga, Dahej, Mallavaram, and others.
In a vote of confidence in market participation, JSW Steel and Hindustan Oil Exploration Company (HOEC) became proprietary members of IGX in March 2025. Exchange-traded deliveries in the month clocked 6.1 million MMBtu (~5 MMSCMD).
For the complete financial year 2024–25, IGX recorded its all-time high annual trade volume of 60 million MMBtu (1,510 MMSCM), a growth of 47 per cent YoY. 1,692 trades were completed during the year, with monthly contracts being the most liquid, commanding 48 per cent of all trades. The other types of contracts were weekly (22 per cent), fortnightly (19 per cent), daily (5 per cent), and others. The most active delivery point was Dahej, with 33 per cent contribution to trade volume, followed by Gadimoga at 22 per cent.
The transaction reported FY25 delivery volumes of 59.5 million MMBtu (4.2 MMSCMD).
Major developments in the year saw MoUs signed with HPCL and Crown LNG, as well as PNGRB regulatory approvals for long-term contracts and small-scale LNG contracts.
New delivery locations such as Jaya, Chhara, and Barmer were initiated, adding to a total of 17 locations, which also include five LNG terminals, nine domestic gas fields, and three pipelines interconnect points.