New Delhi: Talks between Petronet LNG and ONGC Videsh and the Qatar government on the Indian combine’s plans to invest in liquefaction projects in that country are in limbo as the two sides are not in agreement on pricing of gas, Petronet LNG Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Prabhat Singh said. Speaking on the sidelines of the India Energy Forum by CERAWeek, Singh told reporters that the Indian companies wanted to buy gas at the well-head price, while Qatar Gas was seeking market price.
However, Singh said that the proposal is not off the table and did not rule out a revival in negotiations. Petronet LNG was looking to invest in gas liquefaction projects in Qatar, in a bid to diversify operations. Petronet LNG is primarily an importer of the super-cooled fuel and has no experience in liquefaction–the process of converting natural gas into liquid form. Qatar has plans to enhance its gas liquefaction capacity to 100 mtpa from the current 77 mtpa over the next few years.
Petronet LNG has a well-established business relationship with Qatar, as a lion’s share of its term volumes of the super-cooled gas are imported from that country. The company has a long-term contract to import 8.5 mtpa of LNG from RasGas Co. ONGC Videsh is the overseas investment arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Petronet LNG is promoted by Indian state-owned oil and gas players–ONGC, GAIL (India), Indian Oil Corp, and Bharat Petroleum Corp –each holding 12.5 per cent stake.
