India, Qatar disagree on LNG pricing
India's talks with Qatar, for an additional 3-4 million tonnes liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year - over and above the current imports of 7.5 million tonnes of LNG a year by Petronet LNG Ltd -, reportedly came to a standstill on Friday over the crucial question about the pricing of the fuel.
According to the information shared by `inside' sources, the India-Qatar LNG negotiations - which were being held during Qatar Energy Minister Mohammed bin Saleh Al-Sada's India visit - got stuck when Qatar said that it wanted a price of $16 per million British thermal unit.
As per the sources, while Qatar sought a price of 15-16 percent of Japanese Crude Cocktail (JCC) - which happens to be the average price of customs-cleared crude oil imports into Japan -, India was ready to pay only 14.5 per cent of JCC; that is, less than $105 a barrel at present.
In a Friday statement, an industry source revealed that the additional LNG that India is seeking from Qatar, under long-term contracts, will chiefly cater to the needs of the country's Dahej plant and Dabhol project.
Going by the reports, India has asked Qatar to make the final offer for the extra 3-4 million tones of LNG per year.
Meanwhile, other than the additional LNG offer, Qatar's minister Al-Sada has also offered to supply India with LPG and crude oil condensates, the processing of which yields white fuels such as petrol, kerosene, ATF and naphtha.
