India and Japan are to explore options for strengthening cooperation in liquefied natural gas. An official statement said they are also exploring joint cooperation in the areas of LNG sourcing, swapping and optimisation of LNG sources and commercial exploitation of methane hydrates.
In an official statement on his visit to Japan, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the global LNG market is undergoing a major transformation driven by new supplies, which has created a situation of oversupply.
He urged the global LNG markets, in which producers and consumers of LNG have equal stakes, to join hands to design flexible terms such as pricing review, flexible take or pay and abolition of destination restriction clause in LNG contracts.
A Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) for establishing a liquid, flexible and global LNG market was also signed between India and Japan.
The MoC provides a framework to cooperate in facilitating flexibility in LNG contracts, abolition of Destination Restriction Clause and also explore possibilities of cooperation in establishing reliable LNG spot price indices reflecting true LNG demand and supply, the statement added.
The two sides also signed a MoC on the Technical Intern Training Program (TITP). The TITP is an ambitious programme to send Indian technical interns to Japan for on-the-job training for a period of three to five years. The MoC is expected to pave the way for bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the area of skill development.