By IANS
New Delhi : The emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani in a meeting in Doha Monday assured Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora to consider India’s demand for increasing the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
India already has a 25-year contract for supply of 7.5 million tonnes of LNG every year. Recently, Petronet India Limited signed another agreement with Ras Gas for supply of 1.25 MT of LNG by September 2008. Besides these two agreements, India has been keen to import five MT more of gas from Qatar.
The emir’s assurance for considering the Indian demand was reiterated by Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, Qatar’s deputy premier and minister of energy & industry, who had invited Deora and met him Monday morning, the Indian ministry of petroleum and natural gas said in a statement here.
Deora was accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Petroleum Secretary M.S. Srinivasan, Gas Authority of India Limited chairman U.D. Choubey, ONGC Videsh Limited managing director R.S. Butola and Petronet LNG Limited managing director P. Dasgupta.
Delivering the keynote address at the sixth Doha Gas Conference, Deora pointed out that by 2010, Qatar – home of the world’s largest gas fields – will become the largest LNG exporter with a capacity of 77 metric tonnes.
“India has a large demand for natural gas and this makes us natural allies for economic development through energy trade,” he said.
India, with an annual growth rate of eight to nine percent, would need large supplies of natural gas, added Deora, “keeping in mind environmental concerns as well as efficiency of utilization”.
The demand for additional LNG supply would also help utilise the extended capacity due to the expansion of two LNG import terminals at Dahej in Gujarat and Kochi in Kerala.
“As LNG is emerging as a very important source of natural gas for the country, systematic expansion of the gas storage and pipeline infrastructure is underway,” said Deora.
With significant gas discoveries within the country, Deora invited Qatari oil and gas companies as well as international oil companies based in Doha to participate in the next exploration and production bidding round in which several onshore, offshore and deepwater blocks will be put up for auction.
He pointed out that more than 160 blocks have so far been awarded through six bidding rounds under the New Exploration and Licensing Policy.