India wants to delink #Qatar gas supply deals from crude; Qatar says no - Reuters

India wants to delink Qatar gas supply deals from crude; Qatar says no - Reuters:

India wants Qatar to delink the price of its imported gas from that of oil under long-term deals, India’s oil minister said on Monday, to make supplies cheaper for price-sensitive customers after a sharp fall in spot prices of the cleaner fuel.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) sourced from the spot market costs about half of that under the long-term deals.

India in 1999 signed a long-term LNG deal with Qatar for supplies from 2004, with volumes gradually rising to 7.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).

The price of gas under the long-duration deal was linked to the price of crude, as oil markets were well developed compared with that of gas.