India’s $78 billion deal with Qatar which is being discussed
An important agreement has been signed between India and Qatar on Tuesday. This agreement has been made for the next 20 years and its total cost is 78 billion dollars. India will buy Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from Qatar till the year 2048.
India’s largest LNG importing company, Petronet LNG Limited (PLL) has signed this agreement with Qatar’s government company Qatar Energy. Under this agreement, Qatar will export 7.5 million tonnes of gas to India every year.
This agreement was signed on Tuesday, the first day of India Energy Week 2024 going on in Goa. This agreement is also being said to be very important because it has been done at a much lower price than the current agreement.
Petronet LNG has said in its statement that an agreement was signed between the two countries regarding the import of gas on July 31, 1999, which was for till 2028.
Now this deal has been made for 20 years which will start from 2028. No information has been made public regarding the total price at which the gas will be purchased, but it is being said that its price will be lower than the current deal.
This new deal will save approximately $6 billion over the next 20 years. Petronet imports 85 lakh tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG from Qatar every year under two agreements.
The first agreement between the two countries was signed 25 years ago which was valid till 2028. This has been extended by 20 more years till 2048. Another deal for one MTPA was signed in 2015. News agency PTI has quoted sources as saying that this agreement will be negotiated separately.
How much gas does India import?
Apart from Qatar, Indian companies have agreements with Australia and America for LNG, but India imports more than half of the LNG it uses from Qatar only.
According to India’s official trade data, India imported 19.85 million tonnes of LNG in 2022-23, of which about 54 percent (10.74 million tonnes) came from Qatar. In the same financial year, India had imported a total of $ 16.81 billion from Qatar, out of which the import of LNG was $ 8.32 billion, which was 49.5 percent of the total import.
Natural gas is considered a cleaner option than diesel and petrol and is generally cheaper than crude oil. India is dependent on imports for crude oil and natural gas and imports approximately 85 percent of its crude oil. Whereas natural gas is considered very important and suitable for changing the energy needs of the country.
How will gas come from Qatar?
This deal regarding LNG between India and Qatar has been done on Ex Ship Basis (DES) which will reach the port through ship.
The agreement signed in 1999 was on Free on Board (FOB) basis, whereas the deal starting from 2028 is on DES basis. It is being said that the deal under DES is reducing its cost because in FOB the gas buyer arranges for the shipment whereas in DES the responsibility lies with the seller.
Indian gas importing company PLL is a joint venture of ONGC, India Oil, GAIL and Bharat Petroleum. PLL has a terminal in Dahej, Gujarat, where gas comes by ship and then it is distributed among different petroleum companies.
Petronet LNG Limited (PLL) says the agreement with Qatar Energy will ensure uninterrupted supply of gas to high-consumption sectors such as fertilisers, city gas distribution, refineries and power generation.
Qatar’s Energy Minister and CEO of Qatar Energy Saad Al-Kaabi said on the sidelines of the India Energy Week celebrations in Goa on Tuesday that he is present in India for its market and is hopeful that it will expand the economy which also needs the energy sector. Is.
