GAIL renegotiating LNG deals with U.S. companies minister

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian gas firm GAIL (India) Ltd is renegotiating its liquefied natural gas purchase deals with U.S.-based Cheniere Energy and Dominion Cove Point, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told lawmakers on Monday.

GAIL has signed contracts for sourcing up to 5.8 million tonnes of LNG from the United States.

"GAIL has held number of discussions with Cheniere Energy (Sabine Terminal) and Dominion Cove Point LNG LP (DCP Terminal), for re-negotiation of the contracts," Pradhan said, adding the latest discussions took place in November.

India wants to raise the share of natural gas in its energy mix to 15 percent in the next few years from about 6.5 percent now. But price-sensitive customers in the South Asian nation forced renegotiation of the price of two long-term LNG deals.

Pricing of U.S. LNG is linked to a formula but other charges including freight to India add an extra $2-$3 per million British thermal units, leading to GAIL scouting for destination, time and volume swap deals.

India has in the past renegotiated LNG deals with Qatar's RasGas and Exxon Mobil Corp as spot prices have declined substantially amid a supply glut.

Reuters in June reported that GAIL is looking to renegotiate LNG deals with Cheniere and Dominion Cove.

(Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan, editing by David Evans)