Centrica Renews LNG Agreement with Qatargas

Centrica, parent company of British Gas, announced it entered into a LNG supply agreement with Qatargas to meet 13% of the residential gas demand in the UK.

“It is vital that the UK has a diverse range of sources of supply to meet its energy requirements. In a competitive international market, contracts like this underpin the UK's access to global LNG supplies for the benefit of customers," Centrica Chief Executive Sam Laidlaw commented in a note released on Wednesday.

The agreement will grant up to 3 million tonnes per annum of LNG for four years and a half. According to the company, the £4.4 billion deal builds on an agreement signed by Centrica and Qatargas in February 2011. The new agreement, which will take the place of the one ending in June 2014, will contribute to UK energy security till December 2018. 

"Long term deals of this kind with reliable suppliers like Qatar are vital for our future energy security," Energy Minister, Michael Fallon.

According to Bloomberg, UK industrial production rose more than economists forecast in September, sustained by a rebound in manufacturing after the slump occurred last month.