The Hindu : Front Page : Agreement on LNG eludes India, Qatar

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Tuesday, Nov 11, 2008
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Agreement on LNG eludes India, Qatar

Sandeep Dikshit

Doha: The issue of cross investments figured during talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al Thani on Sunday evening and again when he called on the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani on Monday.

“Earlier, it was easy to call up western financial institutions and get them to manage funds. Now, there is a loss of confidence after the way in which some of them have conducted themselves. This has necessitated the creation of alternate institutions and channels,” said highly places sources while explaining the Indian pitch for funds from Oman and Qatar.

An agreement on supplying additional liquefied natural gas (LNG) could not be inked.

With Qatar pointing out that it has already committed gas supplies, India for the present will have to remain content with the 7.5 million tones of gas promised annually.

“There are expectations that in the near future, gas supplies might be increased,” Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs N. Ravi told journalists.

Qatar is the principal supplier of natural gas to India, which currently imports about one-third of its current requirements. But officials drew satisfaction from discussions on channelling Qatar’s surplus funds for the Indian infrastructure sector and Doha’s willingness to encourage Indian financial institutions.

“India could be a high potential user of these funds because of its high requirements during the XI Plan period. One area we considered was how a mechanism could be constructed so that investments from Qatar can come in,” Mr. Ravi said. India was also asked to take advantage of the special economic zones (SEZs) coming up in the region, especially in software and telecom. Education was another area where Qatar and India would also like to develop closer bonds.

Petroleum Minister Murli Deora, who joined the Prime Ministerial delegation in Qatar, met Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy and Industry Abdullah bin Hamad al Attiyah to discuss the issue of additional supply of LNG. India annually buys five million tonnes of LNG from RasGas of Qatar at considerably low rates.

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