GAIL to import 32-33 LNG cargoes in 2014/15 - chairman

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - State-run gas utility GAIL India Ltd plans to import 32 to 33 cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the 2014/15 fiscal year that starts from April 1, its chairman said on Wednesday.

Rising demand for LNG in Asia, the top destination for the fuel, has helped push its price to near-record levels and now buyers such as India and Japan are trying to find ways to cut their soaring gas import bills.

Asian prices are about four times the cost of natural gas in the United States, where a boom in shale oil and gas has sharply reduced prices.

The high prices have hit gas demand and GAIL is operating the Dabhol plant in western India at 0.8 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) compared with the planned 3.5 MTPA capacity, a company official said. The Dabhol plant has a capacity of 5 MTPA.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Anupama Dwivedi)