QatarEnergy and Petronet agree on 20-year LNG supply to India

Qatar’s state-owned energy giant QatarEnergy has signed a 20-year sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with India’s Petronet LNG for the supply of 7.5 million tons per annum (mtpa) of LNG to the Republic of India.

The contracted LNG volumes from Qatar will be delivered ex-ship to terminals across India onboard QatarEnergy’s LNG fleet starting May 2028.

Petronet first entered into an agreement for the supply of LNG from Qatar in 1999 for the delivery of 7.5 mtpa. It was followed in 2015 by another agreement for the supply of an additional 1 mtpa of LNG, raising the total annual long-term volumes contracted between the two sides to 8.5 mtpa.

Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of QatarEnergy, said: “This agreement is another key milestone in the long-standing energy partnership between Qatar and India and comes on the heels of the 20th anniversary of the first LNG shipment to India.

“We believe that this new agreement, with our valued customers Petronet LNG and its esteemed shareholder companies, will further strengthen the relationship with India and support its vision to increase the contribution of natural gas in its energy mix.”

QatarEnergy has been filling the headlines with its LNG shipbuilding program, which has been described as the largest of its kind in the history of the LNG industry.

In the first phase of the program, a total of 60 ships were ordered at Korean and Chinese shipyards.

In September 2023, QatarEnergy placed an order for the construction of 17 LNG carriers with South Korean shipyard HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), marking the beginning of the second stage of its massive shipbuilding program.

At the beginning of 2024, broker reports indicated that the company sealed a contract with Chinese shipbuilder CSSC Hudong Zhonghua shipbuilding for the construction of eight Q-Max ultra-large LNG carriers. The vessels will have a 271,000 cubic meter carrying capacity, making them the world’s largest.

Qatari heavyweight is also believed to be behind the latest massive order for 15 LNG carriers at Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI). The contract, worth KRW 4.57 trillion ($3.44 billion), is the largest single deal received by the shipbuilder. The two companies have been in negotiations for the shipbuilding program since October last year.