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Qatar’s LNG marketing strategy has shifted. It is now cutting deals to keep its market share

THE COUNTRY built the world’s premiere liquefied natural gas business with expectations of ever-rising demand for its product and a deep faith in the long-term contracts that would underpin its industry. But it misread the runes. As Asian demand growth softens, prices fall and customers get picky, the emirate’s ability to dictate contracts – and lock in high prices – is being curtailed. The early months of 2016 have seen a marked shift in the way that Qatar goes about marketing its impressive LNG endowment. In January, state-owned RasGas renegotiated a long-term LNG deal with India’s Petronet that almost halved the price, from $12-13 per million British thermal units (Btu) to $6-7/m Btu for