India is seeking from its largest liquefied natural gas (lNG) supplier Qatar a cut in gas prices to match the 60 per cent slump in global rates in the last one year.
India buys 7.5 million tonnes of lNG a year on a long-term 25 year contract, indexed to a moving average of crude oil price.
The price of lNG from Qatar comes close to $13 per million British thermal unit as compared to the $6-7 rate at which it is available in the spot or current market.
Petronet lNG ltd “is working to mitigate the impact of the higher prices under the long-term contracts so as to bring the lNG prices more in line with the current market conditions”, Oil Secretary Kapil Dev Tripathi said. Tripathi, who is also the chairman of Petronet, said the prices of lNG in the spot or current markets have come down considerably in the past one year.