India to import U.S. LNG without FTA

India’s PM Narendra Modi will visit the U.S. in the coming days and the county is looking to import U.S. LNG without the compulsory Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

“The issue is very much on the Prime Minister’s agenda, and we have indications that the US is seriously considering the matter,” a Government official told Business Line.

The goal is to negotiate a complete waiver from the existing conditions due to which the U.S. LNG exports largely depend on approval by the Department of Energy, FERC and other departments. It is in New Delhi’s interest to negotiate an exception and add future imports to the already signed agreements that GAIL has with Cheniere and Dominion.

LNG World News Staff, July 28, 2014; Image: GAIL