Qatar cuts LNG price for India, to help save Rs 4,000 crore a year

Price cut by almost half, RasGas to also waive off penalty fee for lower offtake

India's biggest gas importer Petronet LNG will buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar's RasGas at virtually half the original cost, the government said in a statement today.

The price cut will help Petronet save Rs 40 billion ($604.69 million) a year, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan told reporters, adding that the Qatar-based supplier has also waived off the penalty fee for lower offtake.

Reuters reported last month that the two companies were renegotiating the terms of the deal to lower the cost of gas shipments and avoid a $1.5 billion penalty fee for lifting less gas than agreed.

New Delhi said RasGas will supply LNG to Petronet at $6-7 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), sharply lower than $12-13 per mmbtu agreed earlier.