Pharamendra Pradhan, India’s Oil Minister, wants Qatar to re-negotiate their deals over imported gas and its price link to crude oil. India and Qatar signed a deal for long term natural gas supplies in 1999. The price of gas was tied to the price of crude at the time because of the more well-developed oil markets. However, in 2015, both parties modified the deal which led to a 50% price reduction for India. India believes that the current formula linking natural gas with crude oil is not correct and that there needs to be an independent formula for pricing. Qatar’s energy minister, Saad Shenda al-Kaabi says that they will not negotiate any existing contracts, but that they are open to supplying more natural gas for India’s rising demand.