Qatar Gas Sales Hit Hurdle as China and India Seek Cheaper Deals

The Ras Laffan Industrial City, the principal site for production of liquefied natural gas and gas-to-liquid in Qatar.

Photographer: Karim Jaafar/AFP/Getty Images
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Qatar’s effort to sell liquefied natural gas from a massive expansion project is being complicated by Chinese and Indian buyers demanding lower prices and more favorable terms.

Officials from state-owned QatarEnergy met Chinese companies earlier this month and offered supply deals spanning at least a decade, with prices near a 13% link to the Brent crude benchmark, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The buyers have instead pushed for pacts in the low- to mid-12% Brent, said the people, who asked not to be identified as they are not authorized to speak to media.