Reliance imports of American gas make much strategic sense

Ethane is a better source of polymers and the US would be pleased

- ANDY MUKHERJEE

From Ottawa to Beijing, US President Donald Trump's trade war has made many enemies. But it has also won America some allies. Asia's richest tycoon is preparing to welcome US cargo originally meant for China but re-routed to India. The ship that Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries Ltd is waiting for is laden with ethane. This colourless, odourless component of natural gas is shipped in liquefied form in special carriers such as STL Qianjiang, which is on its way from the US Gulf Coast to Reliance's terminal in Dahej, Gujarat, where the company has an ethane cracker to produce ethylene, used for plastic products.

The unit, completed in 2017, made Reliance "the first company to globally conceptualize large-scale imports of ethane from North America as feedstock," it said in a press release back then. Eight years later, that foresight may come in handy to India's trade negotiators. "Stop obsessing over your $43 billion trade deficit with us," they might like to tell their counterparts in Washington, as both sides try to close a trade deal ahead. "We're going to buy your gas."