Petronet eyes lower prices under renewed long-term deal with Qatar

By Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's Petronet LNG hopes to extend its long-term gas import deal with Qatar at lower prices than those offered by the world's top liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter in recent deals with China and Bangladesh.

Indications are that the deals have been done at a slope of 12-13% to Brent, said A. K. Singh, Petronet's chief executive. LNG contract prices are typically expressed as a slope, or percentage, of Brent prices.

"We are hopeful that we will get better deals than others," Singh told a press conference to announce its June quarter earnings.

Petronet is "seriously engaged" with Qatar to extend its long-term deal to beyond 2028, Singh said, adding that Petronet has until the end of the year to complete negotiations for an extension.

Petronet at present buys 8.5 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) of LNG under its deals with Qatar, with pricing based on a slope of about 12.67% of Brent, plus a fixed charge of about 50 cents per million British thermal units(mmBtu).

Singh had previously said Petronet will seek up to 1 mtpa in additional LNG supplies when it renews its long-term deal with Qatar.

Petronet operates two LNG import terminals located in the country's west coast - a 17.5 mtpa plant at Dahej plant and a 5 mtpa Kochi facility.

The company hopes to commission its third LNG import plant, a 4 mtpa floating storage and regassification unit (FSRU) at Gopalpur in eastern Odisha state by mid-2026.

Petronet would consider building a land-based terminal if FSRU prices are high, Singh said. He, however, hopes that FSRU prices would come down in three years as Europe is working on alternative sources of energy such as wind, solar and nuclear.

FSRU prices have risen sharply on higher demand from European countries.

 

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Sharon Singleton)