India’s largest gas importer is asking Qatar to supply part of its liquefied natural gas from the United States, as the country tries to reduce its exposure to supply shocks in the Gulf.
Petronet LNG Ltd is in talks with Qatar to source some LNG from the US under its long-term contract beginning in 2028, the company’s group general manager Vivek Mittal said on an analyst call, the Daily Mirror reported, citing Reuters.
“Definitely we have had some discussion with Qatar to diversify supply under the renewed contract, which will start in 2028,” Mittal said, answering a question on whether India was seeking American LNG through the Qatari deal.
The contract
Qatar is India’s largest LNG supplier and currently has a contract to supply Petronet with 7.5 million metric tonnes of the fuel a year. That agreement was due to expire in April 2028 and has been renewed for a further 20 years, to 2048, with Qatar supplying cargoes on a delivered basis.
The request does not change those volumes. It asks where the gas comes from — and Qatar is now in a position to offer American molecules. QatarEnergy signed a 20-year agreement last month to buy 3 million tonnes a year from Woodside’s US facilities, with deliveries expected from 2030, and two agreements with Cheniere Energy for up to 4 million tonnes a year through 2054 from its Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi plants.
Mittal said Qatar is willing to consider the request and could offer a “certain portion of volume from other sources which they have tied up”.
Hiru News, which carried the story separately and also credited Reuters, framed the approach as India seeking to guarantee uninterrupted supply, and reported Qatar as ready to respond positively. The Daily Mirror’s sourced wording is weaker — that Qatar is “willing to consider” — and this report follows the quoted version.
Why India is diversifying
The pressure comes from the war with Iran. QatarEnergy declared force majeure on LNG supplies in March, after the conflict led to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on its Ras Laffan facilities. That force majeure runs through December for now.
The consequences for Petronet have been concrete: the company has suspended time charter agreements for three LNG tankers because of the shortfall in Qatari supply. India has meanwhile been buying LNG from the US, Oman, Nigeria, Angola and Australia.
Context for the region
Sri Lanka is not a party to these contracts, but the disruption behind them is the same one driving regional energy costs. Hormuz traffic has been interrupted repeatedly through the war — this desk reported in September on vessels transiting the strait under restricted conditions — and the resulting fuel and freight costs have fed through to Sri Lankan pump prices, most recently in Wednesday’s increase in 95-octane petrol.
Not reported
Neither filing gives the volume Petronet is seeking from US sources, the price basis, or whether Qatar has set conditions. Neither says when a decision is expected, and no comment from QatarEnergy appears in either.
