India’s Petronet hopes diplomatic row with Qatar will not hurt gas talks
The CEO of India’s Petronet LNG said on Monday he hoped negotiations between India and Qatar to extend their long-term liquefied natural gas import deals beyond 2028 would not be harmed by a diplomatic row between the countries. The government in New Delhi said last week it was “deeply shocked” by a decision by a Qatar court to impose the death penalty on eight Indians arrested in the country last year, on charges that have not been made public. Petronet LNG CEO A. K. Singh said: “We are in business. It (the diplomatic row) will be handled at the highest level of the country… we hope this does not have any impact on business relations.” India’s top gas importer has until the end of this year to renew its long-term agreements with Qatar. Petronet at present buys 8.5 million metric tons per year (tpy) of LNG under its deals with Qatar, and is ‘actively engaged’ with the country for their renewal, Singh said at the company’s September quarter earnings press conference. It operates two LNG import terminals on the country’s west coast – a 17.5 million tpy plant at Dahej, and a 5 million tpy facility at Kochi. It is building a third LNG import plant, a 4 million tpy floating storage and regasification unit at Gopalpur in eastern Odisha state. Singh said expansion of the Dahej terminal by 5 million tpy is expected to be completed by end-March 2024.
Oil Prices Plunge 3% as Market Weighs Israeli Attack on Gaza
Oil prices plunged by 3% on Monday as market sentiment hedged its bets that Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza would not have global repercussions impacting oil and gas supplies. On Monday at 1:45 p.m. Brent crude was trading down 3.09% at $87.68 per barrel for a loss of $2.80 on the day. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was trading down 3.66% at $82.41 per barrel, for a loss of $3.13 on the day. The plunge in prices comes as Israel on Monday intensified its ground invasion in the northern Gaza Strip, with the death toll for Palestinians rising to over 8,300, compared to the death toll among Israelis of 1,400, the majority of whom were killed in Hamas’ initial October 7 attack. Oil prices have continued to fall throughout the day, even as the World Bank warns that oil prices could enter “uncharted waters” if the Israel-Hamas conflict expands into the wider Middle East. The World Bank on Monday forecast oil prices to average $81 per barrel in 2024, assuming the Israel-Hamas conflict remained contained. Alternatively, the bank wanted that an expansion of this conflict to multiple fronts could lead to major supply disruption, sending prices as high as $157 per barrel. Global oil markets are now latching on to a scenario in which the conflict will have a limited impact on commodities markets. The general consensus is that the markets had already priced in the Israel ground incursion into Gaza on Friday, and by Monday, other macroeconomic concerns were taking over, including the Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting Wednesday on interest rate hikes. For now, analysts are widely expecting rate hike plans to remain unchanged in an atmosphere in which the U.S. economy is growing faster than expected, with 4.9% growth rate in Q3.