First LNG to Dahej delayed by six months
India and Qatar have put back the date of first LNG to Dahej from July 2003 to December 2003.
Oil minister Ram Naik announced this after a meeting in Delhi with visiting Qatari oil minister Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah on October 18th. The original SPA signed between Petronet-LNG and RasGas in July 1999 said first supplies would land at Dahej on July 1st, 2003.
A decision to delay delivery should give Petronet-LNG more time to resolve the vexed issue of National Thermal Power Corporation's participation in the project (see: Story 3). Naik said Petronet-LNG would award the EPC contract for Dahej by November this year.