Lede
India’s largest importer of natural gas, Petronet LNG, said it expects Qatar to resume supplying the full volume stipulated under its contract once disruptions in the Middle East subside, the company’s chief executive A. K. Singh said on Monday.
Contractual volume and delivery rhythm
Under its existing arrangement, Qatar is contracted to deliver 7.5 million metric tons per year of liquefied natural gas to Petronet. That annual quantity translates to roughly nine to ten cargoes every month under normal operations.
Disruption and immediate impact
Deliveries were suspended in March after the Strait of Hormuz was closed. In addition, two of Qatar’s 14 LNG production trains were struck, a development that led the Qatari producer to declare force majeure. Petronet has reported that it has not been receiving cargoes originating from the two trains that sustained damage in those attacks.
Capacity sidelined and repair timeline
Qatar has indicated that repairs will remove 12.8 million tons per year of LNG capacity from service for a period it estimates to be three to five years. That figure is a global capacity metric supplied by Qatar and stands separate from Petronet’s contracted volume, but it describes the scale of production affected by the damage.
Company statement and present notifications
Singh said the company remains hopeful that supplies will not be curtailed, stating, "We hope and expect our supplies will not be cut." At the same time, he confirmed that Qatar had issued a force majeure notification covering deliveries scheduled for May.
Implications and outlook
Petronet's expectation of restored flows depends on an improvement in the regional situation and on the pace at which damaged production trains are repaired. For now, the company is operating with the reality of interrupted cargoes from the affected trains and a force majeure notice from its Qatari supplier for May shipments.
Note: Information in this report is drawn from the company's statements and the supplier's announcements as described above.