India Oil Minister Heads to Qatar With Eye on Swift LNG Supply

Indian Oil Minister Hardeep Puri is heading to Qatar for a two-day visit from Thursday, seizing the opportunity presented by a tentative US-Iran ceasefire to press for priority gas delivery and speedy supply of cooking fuel.

India depends on imports for half of its natural gas needs and two-thirds of liquefied petroleum gas, often used in kitchens, with most of that supply coming from the Middle East. A six-week war in the Persian Gulf has left the South Asian nation to cope with industrial supply shortages and the ripple effect of rising prices.