India, Europe feel fuel crunch as Gulf gas supplies disrupted amid war
Al Jazeera
Qatar has halted its liquefied natural gas production, as India and Europe bear the brunt of soaring prices.
Indian companies have reduced natural gas supplies to industries in anticipation of tighter supply from the Middle East after top global producer Qatar halted liquefied natural gas (LNG) production, as European gas prices have jumped further by more than 30 percent since the launch of the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Industry sources with knowledge of the matter told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday that top gas importer Petronet LNG Ltd had informed GAIL (India), the state-owned top gas marketing company, and other companies about lower supplies.
Cuts ranged from 10 percent to 30 percent, two sources told the agency. GAIL and Indian Oil Corp (IOC) informed customers of the gas supply cuts late on Monday, according to one of the sources.
India is the world’s fourth-largest buyer of LNG and relies heavily on the Middle East for its imports. The South Asian nation is the top LNG client for Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and the second-largest buyer of Qatari LNG.
The sources said the cuts have been set at minimum lifting quantities that would shield the suppliers from any penalties from the customers based on contractual terms.
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