New Delhi, Oct 29: Qatar Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani today assured Union Petroleum Minister Murli Deora to consider Indian proposal for supplying additional quantities of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

At a meeting in Doha earlier this morning, Al-Thani and Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Industry, emphasised the need for greater cooperation between India and Qatar in the hydrocarbon sector.

Deora evinced interest of Indian companies to participate, including equity stake, in the various opportunities and projects in the hydrocarbon sector in Qatar. He said that the Indian gas market was emerging as a mature market.

In recent years, the Indian gas sector has received progressively greater attention from global companies and has made rapid strides on the upstream front, said a statement of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas issued here.

Speaking at the 6th Doha Gas Conference, Deora invited Qatari oil and gas companies and International Oil Companies (IOCs) present to actively participate in the next Indian Exploration and Production (E&P) bidding round, which will be officially announced shortly.

Deora, who is on a two-day visit to Qatar, said that a significant number of onshore, offshore and deep-water blocks would be offered for participation.

“India has a large demand for natural gas and this makes us natural allies for economic development through energy trade. With eight to nine percent annual growth, we are looking for large supplies of natural gas to meet the growing energy demand, keeping in mind environmental concerns as well as efficiency of utilization,” he said.

Deora added that the country was planning to focus on use of natural gas in transport, household and industrial sectors.

He is accompanied by Petroleum Secretary M.S. Srinivasan, GAIL CMD U.D. Choubey, MD OVL R.S. Butola and MD PLL P. Dasgupta. (ANI)