Qatar Renews Long-Term LNG Contract With India, 20-Year Deal Secures 7.5 MTPA Of Gas Supply

Petronet LNG Ltd, India's biggest gas importer, has secured a 20-year contract to purchase 7.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from QatarEnergy, the state-owned energy company of Qatar.

Under the terms of the agreement, deliveries are scheduled to commence in 2028 and extend through 2048, with shipments conducted on a Delivered Ex-Ship (DES) basis.

The deal is an extension of an existing contract for the supply of around 7.5 mtpa signed in July, 1999 which runs until 2028. In 2015, an additional supplementary agreement was inked for the supply of an additional 1 MTPA of LNG, raising the total annual long-term volumes contracted between the two sides to 8.5 MTPA.

Similar to the earlier agreement of 1999, the LNG volumes under the new contract will go to GAIL (India) (60 per cent), Indian Oil Corporation Limited (30 per cent) and Bharat Petroleum corporation Limited (10 per cent) after regasification - primarily from the Dahej Terminal of Petronet in Gujarat.

The comprehensive long-term supply agreement not only solidifies India's energy security but also guarantees a consistent provision of regasified LNG to key sectors such as fertilizers, city gas distribution (CGD), refineries, petrochemicals, power generation, and various other industries.

The deal with QatarEnergy was announced on the same day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the India Energy Week (IEW) in Goa. The deal was signed in the presence of Oil Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri and Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi.

Al-Kaabi said, “This agreement is another key milestone in the long-standing energy partnership between Qatar and India and comes on the heels of the 20th anniversary of the first LNG shipment to India.”

Speaking on the occasion, Petronet LNG MD and CEO Akshay Kumar Singh said, “The existing long-term agreement between Petronet LNG and QatarEnergy today accounts for around 35 per cent of India’s LNG imports and is of national importance.”

"Renewal of this agreement is a step towards achieving vision of making India a gas-based economy and increase the share of natural gas in India’s primary energy basket to 15 per cent by year 2030", added Singh.