India re-negotiating gas purchase contract with Qatar

India is re-negotiating the terms of a long-term natural gas contract with Qatar in line with the slump in global prices but no agreement has been signed till date, parliament was informed on Monday.

"PLL (Petronet LNG Ltd.) is in talks with RasGas Company of Qatar to re-negotiate the terms of long-term gas agreement. However, no binding agreement has been executed so far," Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

Petroleum ministry officials told reporters here on Monday that PLL is currently lifting only 68 percent of the volumes it agreed to in the long-term contract with RasGas following a slump in global energy prices led to gas being available in the spot market at around half the rate.

The price of spot LNG delivered has dropped more than 50 percent in the past year to about $6.80 per unit.

The revised formula being negotiated will base the price n a three-month average price of Brent crude oil, replacing a 5-year average of a basket of crudes imported by Japan, on condition that PLL purchases an additional 1 million tonnes of LNG annually, the sources added.