India's Petronet aims to extend long-term LNG buy deal with Qatar

By Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's top gas importer Petronet LNG hopes to extend its long-term deal to purchase liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar to beyond 2028, the company's head of finance V.K. Mishra said on Monday.

Petronet has a deal to buy 7.5 million tonnes per year (mtpa) of LNG from Qatar under a long-term deal expiring in 2028.

"It is a good contract and perhaps we will be able to negotiate with them," Mishra told an analyst conference after the June quarter earnings of the company.

He said negotiations for the extension of the contract under new terms and conditions will begin in 2023.

India's gas demand is set to rise as Prime Minister Narendra Modi targets raising the share of the cleaner fuel in the country's energy mix to 15% by 2030 from the current 6.2%.

Indian companies are investing billions of dollars to build infrastructure including pipelines and gas import terminals.

Petronet, which operates two LNG import terminals in the country, plans to build a third such facility on the east coast.

Mishra said his firm is conducting gas demand assessment ahead of placing construction orders for the project next year.

 

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; editing by Jason Neely)