India’s Petronet to buy LNG from Qatar

NEW DELHI: 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 on Thursday.

The price cut will help Petronet save 40 billion rupees ($604.69 million) a year, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told reporters, adding that the Qatari 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.