India seeks additional LNG from Qatar

Ammar Zaidi

Doha, Nov 10 (PTI) India on Monday sought an additional 5
million tons of liquefied natural gas from Qatar to meet its
growing energy needs and has proposed to set up a gas-fired
fertiliser plant in the Gulf nation to meets its urea needs.

Petroleum Minister Murli Deora, who arrived here this
morning to give the energy perspective to talks that the Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh-led high level delegation was having
with Qatari leadership for enhancing bilateral cooperation,
met Qatar's Deputy Prime Minister and Energy and Industry
Minister Abdullah bin Hamad al Attiyah.

"We had an excellent one-hour meeting. Attiyah is a great
friend of India and promised to look into our LNG needs,"
Deora told PTI here.

Deora told Attiyah that the nation was short of 5-7.5 MT a
year of energy and wanted Qatar to bridge most of it.

Singh, before reaching Doha on the second leg of his
three-day maiden visit to the Gulf region, had described Qatar
as India's most reliable energy partner.

India currently buys 5 million tons a year of LNG from
RasGas of Qatar under a 25-year contract. The ex-ship price of
USD 2.53 per million British thermal unit (mmBtu) is
considered a 'steal' in current times of LNG prices breaching
USD 20 per mmBtu.

When other nations sought review of gas price when crude
oil prices spiked, Qatar stood ground and also came to New
Delhi's rescue when it agreed to supply 1.5 million tons of
more LNG on a short-term contract to restart the beleaguered
Dabhol power plant in Maharasthra. PTI ANZ
SAK