State-run gas utility GAIL India Ltd plans to buy 19 cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by March, out of which 9 will be bought from the spot market, its chairman said.

The company sells 6.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG locally, sourced from Qatar's Rasgas under a long-term contract and through small deals with GDF Suez and Spain's Gas Natural Fenosa.

B.C. Tripathi told reporters GAIL is also looking for "good" shale gas assets in the United States.

LNG is expensive in Asia at about $17 per million British thermal units (mBtu), as it is linked to oil, while a boom in U.S. shale gas output has pushed down prices there to below $4 per mmBtu.