Shares of Petronet LNG Ltd plunged almost 12% on Wednesday after reports that Qatar, India’s top supplier of imported natural gas, had declared force majeure following a halt in production amid the ongoing crisis in Middle East. On the BSE, the stock dropped 11.69% to Rs 273, while on the NSE it fell 11.95% to Rs 271.75. According to sources, the production halt has forced cuts in supplies to industries of up to 40%. Qatar provides about 40% of the roughly 27 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) India imports each year, serving sectors ranging from power generation and fertiliser production to piped cooking gas and CNG distribution. Around 1:30 pm, the stock was trading at 282.45, down 26.70 or 8.64% on the Bombay Stock Exchange. On the NSE, the share stood at 282.30, shedding 26.35 points or 8.54%. Petronet LNG has informed gas marketers that Qatar has stopped its LNG production after Iran continued strikes on Gulf countries in retaliation for Israeli and US attacks. The announcement sent shares of other gas distributors lower as well, with Mahanagar Gas down 8.50%, Indraprastha Gas falling 5%, and Gujarat Gas slipping 4% on the BSE. The strikes have also brought shipments of oil and LNG through the Strait of Hormuz close to a standstill, pushing global energy prices higher and sharply raising war-risk insurance and shipping costs. Iran controls the Strait, a critical route through which roughly half of India’s crude oil imports and more than half of its LNG supplies pass, including shipments from Qatar and the UAE. Petronet has reportedly notified its offtakers, GAIL (India) Ltd and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), about the disruption. Gas marketers have responded by reducing industrial supplies while maintaining CNG retail flows, with cutbacks ranging from 10 to 40%. Indian buyers of liquefied natural gas are now exploring alternative sourcing options after supplies from Qatar were disrupted due to the Iranian drone strike that forced the Gulf producer to halt output. As the world’s second-largest LNG exporter, any prolonged outage in Qatar is expected to increase global competition for available cargoes. Qatar remains India’s biggest LNG supplier, accounting for nearly half of the country’s imports last year, according to vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. Under its long-term contract, Petronet buys 8.5 million tonnes per annum of LNG from Qatar and also purchases additional supplies from the spot market. Besides Petronet, IOC and other companies also hold LNG import agreements with the UAE.
