Qatar agrees to discuss LNG contract renegotiation

The Qatar government has agreed to discuss India’s demand to renegotiate its long-term LNG contract, reversing the stand it took just four months ago, as crumbling spot prices and collapsing demand during the pandemic has put global suppliers under tremendous pressure. Petronet LNG, which imports gas from Qatar, plans to discuss how prices can be cut under the 8.5 million tonne per annum (mtpa) supply deal that expires in 2028. Petronet had renegotiated the long-term contract with Qatar in 2015 under which the latter had agreed to price gas at a three-month average of Brent crude instead of the 60-month average used until then. In return, Petronet agreed to buy an additional 1 mtpa of LNG from Qatar.