Indian gas firm GAIL has bought an Omani liquefied natural gas cargo as the South Asian nation attempts to meet its natural gas demand, three trade sources said.
GAIL has bought the prompt cargo for delivery next week from a European trader through negotiations at a fixed price of $17-$20 per million British thermal units, two of the three sources said.
The cargo loaded on the vessel Orion Hugo, chartered by Shell, is scheduled to arrive in India around March 15, Kpler data shows.
No immediate response was available from GAIL.
India meets half of its 195 million standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd) of natural gas consumption through imports.
The country was getting about 60 mmscmd gas from the Middle East before the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and force majeure by its biggest supplier Qatar.
India is taking measures to rationalise gas supplies, diverting the fuel from non-priority sectors to key users after the disruption of shipments.
(Reporting by Nidhi Verma and by Emily Chow in Singapore; Editing by Louise Heavens)
