India's Petronet has no plans to invest in LNG developers

By Nidhi Verma
NEW DELHI, Nov 12 (Reuters) - India's Petronet LNG Ltd
PLNG.NS has no plans to invest in liquefied natural gas (LNG)
developers as the market is awash with cheaper fuel, its finance
chief said, indicating it may shelve plans to invest in
Tellurian Inc's TELL.O U.S. project.
Petronet, the country's top gas importer, has time until
December-end to consider investing $2.5 billion for 5 million
tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG in Tellurian's Driftwood project
to end-2020. "Right now, we get LNG at throwaway prices so there is no
need to go for an investment ... you should be more concerned
with LNG than investment," VK Mishra said at an analyst
conference on Thursday.
This is a non-binding memorandum of understanding and there
is no commitment, Mishra said, adding that the company is in
talks for new long-term LNG contract linked to spot prices.
India has been scouting for cheap gas for price-sensitive
consumers as Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to raise the
share of natural gas in the national energy mix to 15% by 2030
from the current 6.2% to reduce pollution.
Petronet has a deal to purchase 7.5 mtpa of LNG from Qatar
and 1.44 mtpa from Exxon Mobil Corp's XOM.N Gorgon project in
Australia.
Spot LNG prices are currently high due to the surge in
demand during winters, he said, adding that the prices would
drop to $4-$6 per million British thermal units (mmbtu) after
January.
To meet India's growing gas demand, Petronet is looking at
constructing a new LNG terminal on the country's east coast and
also plans to raise annual capacity at its Dahej terminal in
western India to 19.5 million tonnes from 17.5 million tonnes.
Petronet is also awaiting for a final approval from Sri
Lankan authorities to build a floating LNG terminal in the
island nation for about $300 million, Mishra said.