By Nidhi Verma
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Indian oil companies are looking to buy U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG), buoyed by the Trump administration's lifting of a ban on export permits for new projects, Oil Secretary Pankaj Jain said on Monday.
The world's fourth largest importer of LNG, India aims to raise the share of gas in its energy mix to 15% by 2030 from 6.2% now.
"Indian oil companies are talking to U.S. companies for additional LNG sourcing," Jain said, adding that among such companies were GAIL (India) (NSE:GAIL) Ltd, Indian Oil Corp and Bharat Petroleum (NSE:BPCL) Corp.
Indian companies will discuss gas sourcing with suppliers of U.S. LNG on the sidelines of the four-day India Energy Week conference from Monday, Jain told reporters.
Indian companies would consider buying stakes in U.S. LNG projects if the deals were attractive, he added.
GAIL will revive plans to buy a stake in a U.S. LNG plant or secure a long-term US LNG deal, its chairman, Sandeep Kumar Gupta, told Reuters.
GAIL now imports 5.8 million tons of U.S. LNG annually under long-term deals, split between Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa) Energy's Cove Point plant and Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG)'s Sabine Pass site in Louisiana.
The bulk of India's LNG imports under long term deals is supplied by Qatar, with prices linked to crude oil. India's gas sourcing portfolio should have a mix of both U.S. Henry Hub and crude oil linked prices, Jain said.
Indian companies are particularly keen to buy LNG from the U.S. as crude oil could be purchased from multiple suppliers.
Indian Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said energy imports from the United States would be discussed when Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets President Donald Trump this week.
At least six Asian countries, including Japan and Taiwan, have expressed interest in buying U.S. LNG, with some hoping to narrow their trade deficits in the face of Trump tariff threats, while others look to expand and diversify supplies.