Iran wants India to pay more than triple the gas price for award of the coveted Farzad-B natural gas block to ONGC Videsh (OVL).
Qatar, as per a revised formula agreed upon in December 2015, sells 7.5 million tonnes a year of LNG to Petronet LNG Ltd – India's biggest gas importer – at a price of $7-plus per million British thermal unit.
The rate being sought by Iran is triple of $2.3 per mmBtu rate OVL is willing to pay for the gas during low global oil prices. If global rates rise, OVL is willing to pay $4.3 per mmBtu, sources privy to the development said.
When oil prices move up, rates of LNG from Qatar would also rise.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in New Delhi on Monday, for a four-day visit during which he will hold extensive talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on key bilateral, regional and international issues, including the Middle East peace process.
Ahead of Abbas' visit, India reiterated its "political support" to the Palestinian cause and had said it continued to assist developmental projects there.
The visit will provide an opportunity for reviewing the entire gamut of bilateral relations, the Middle East peace process, and regional and international issues, external affairs ministry said.
The ministry of external affairs in a statement on Sunday said that several Memorandums of Understanding are expected to be signed during Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas’s four-day visit to India.
The statement assumes significance given that there have been commentaries on the increasing proximity between the Modi government and Israel which may have a bearing on New Delhi's relations with Palestine.
In July, Modi will travel to Israel, the first Indian prime minister to do so.
During his trip to India, Abbas will visit C-DAC (the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) in Noida tomorrow to forge cooperation between Palestine-India Techno Park, being built by India in Palestine, and the Indian IT industry
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