IN 2003, NTPC dropped deals at around 4-5 per MBTU
It was summarily turned down as an "overpriced" and "unviable" offer. Less than three years later, potential buyers from India -- including those who passed on the $4.5 offer -- are scrambling to buy LNG even at $7 or $8. It's a steal at that price: countries like Japan and South Korea are buying LNG at $11 and $20.
It's taken just three years to turn the market dynamics of the LNG industry on its head. With demand in India and China growing at 6-7 per cent a year, suddenly LNG is a suppliers' market.
But it's no party for suppliers, either. Between buying gas at respectable prices from producers across the world and India, to selling them to customers like power plants and fertiliser companies at a profit-generating rate, the suppliers have their work cut out.
This isn't a temporary situation. Natural gas is a clean fuel and given the rising costs of emission control equipment, Indian power generators are increasingly switching from coal-fired to gas-fired plants. As are auto makers.
