Rasgas offers Petronet LNG stake

The Qatar company, commissioned for supplying 7.5 million tonnes of gas annually to the two terminals of Petronet LNG is at present negotiating with the Indian company for the deal, sources said. Petronet LNG, a consortium of national oil companies, was set up by the government to import liquefied natural gas LNG in various parts of the country. Rasgas is a consortium of Qatar Gas and Petroleum Corporation QGPC and Mobil having 70 per cent and 30 per cent stake respectively, the sourcessaid.

Petronet LNG will be drawing the entire LNG from the phase-II of Qatar, sources said. While the Dahej terminal would require five million tonnes of LNG, the Kochi terminal would have a capacity to accommodate 2.5 million tonnes of LNG annually. The demand of Rasgas for a 26 per cent stake in the two terminals also comes at a time when the holding company Petronet LNG is undergoing a restructuring in its equity pattern.

In the restructured equity pattern it is proposed that Indian Oil Corporation IOC and Bharat Petroleum Corporation BPCL would part away with their entire stake in Petronet LNG to accommodate National Thermal Power Corporation NTPC, the sources said.