Qatari flexy time
Qatar’s LNG marketing strategy has shifted. It is now cutting deals to keep its market share
THE COUNTRY built the world’s premiere liquefied natural gas business with expectations of ever-rising demand for its product and a deep faith in the long-term contracts that would underpin its industry. But it misread the runes. As Asian demand growth softens, prices fall and customers get picky, the emirate’s ability to dictate contracts – and lock in high prices – is being curtailed. The early months of 2016 have seen a marked shift in the way that Qatar goes about marketing its impressive LNG endowment. In January, state-owned RasGas renegotiated a long-term LNG deal with India’s Petronet that almost halved the price, from $12-13 per million British thermal units (Btu) to $6-7/m Btu for
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