Thaindian News

New Delhi, Oct 28 (IANS) Petroleum Minister S. Jaipal Reddy Friday urged Qatar to increase supply of crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) and invest in Indian public sector energy firms.

Qatar’s Minister for Industry and Energy Mohammed bin Saleh al Sada met the Indian minister here and discussed the possibilities of increasing oil and gas supplies and investments.

“India is looking for strategic investors for some of the public sector energy projects like petrochemical complexes at Dahej and Manglore, and LNG import terminal at Ennore,” said Reddy during the meeting.

“Such investments will be a win-win proposition for both the countries,” he said.

According to an official statement released after the meeting, the Indian petroleum minister sought additional quantities of crude oil and LNG from Qatar.

Sada reiterated Qatar’s commitment to India to not only supply LNG under existing contracts but also additional quantities for which discussions are going on.

The Qatari minister also offered to supply liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and crude oil condensates which can be processed to produce white fuels like petrol, kerosene, aviation turbine fuel and naphtha.

The two ministers stressed the need for expediting the process of evaluating the present opportunities for mutual cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector.

Reddy expressed the hope that some of these deals would near fruition by the time of the World Petroleum Congress to be held in Doha in December.