Talks on Petronet stake sale on advanced stage: Ahamed

Dubai, Oct 18 (UNI) Qatar's talks to pick up a 10 to 12.5 per cent stake in India's Petronet LNG Ltd are at a ''very advanced stage,'' Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed has said.

Qatar is likely to pick up the stake through the Qatar Investment Authority by subscribing to a 100 million dollar foreign currency convertible bond issue which is expected to be floated shortly.

A due diligence has already been carried out, Mr Ahamed told reporters during a visit to Doha.

Qatar had been offered a 10 per cent stake in 2003 when Petronet floated its initial public offering. In 1999, Petronet had signed a 25-year contract with Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company (RasGas) for 7.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG.

''In 2004, India started receiving 5 MTPA with the option of an additional 2.5 MTPA. We will get the 2.5 MTPA for sure from 2009,'' Mr Ahamed was quoted as saying by Peninsula daily.

On the possibility of Qatar picking up a 40 per cent stake in a National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) plant in Kerala, an official said it was too early to say anything as of now.

NTPC runs a 350 MW gas-fired power plant in the state and proposes to expand it to 1,950 MW by 2010-2011.

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