Qatargas to supply 1mn tonnes LNG to Tepco

Qatargas has entered into a long-term LNG sale and purchase agreement with Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) under which the Japanese firm will receive 1mn tonnes of liquefied natural gas every year from Ras Laffan, beginning 2012. The first long-term bilateral agreement between Tepco and Qatargas was signed by HE the Minister of Energy and Industry Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada, also Chairman of Qatargas board of directors, in the presence of Takao Arai, Tepco managing director at the QP headquarters in Doha yesterday. Tepco is one of the original eight Japanese buyers who had signed a multi-party contract with the Qatargas 1 venture dating back to 1994. Qatargas first began delivering LNG to Japan and Tepco in 1997, with the start-up of Qatargas 1.Japan is one of the biggest importers of LNG and this announcement marks the continued partnership between Qatar and Japan since diplomatic relations started between the two countries some 40 years ago. Al-Sada said: “This agreement is consistent with the vision of HH the Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, for Qatar to contribute towards global energy security. As the largest LNG-producing company in the world, Qatargas is committed to providing reliable energy supplies to all four corners of the world. Today’s agreement reinforces our strong relationship with one of Qatargas’ foundation customers and demonstrates our continued long-term commitment to supply LNG to Japan. We are doing all we can to support Japan’s continuous requirement for stable energy supplies.” Qatargas chief executive officer Khalid bin Khalifa al-Thani said, “This agreement is a further testimony of our long-term reliable commitment to Japan and reinforces Qatargas’ global reputation as a safe and reliable supplier of LNG. Qatargas’ relationship with Tepco goes back to 1994 when we signed an agreement with a consortium of Japanese buyers. Today, we are very pleased to add a new chapter to our long and fruitful partnership.”Arai said, “Having continuously been provided with the smooth and stable delivery from Qatargas since its first cargo, we are confident that today’s execution of the contract between Qatargas, the world’s largest LNG supplier, and Tepco has further deepened the good relationship between the two companies and will greatly contribute to our future stable procurement of liquefied natural gas”.Qatargas will supply approximately 2mn tonnes of LNG to Tepco in 2012 (ie, 5% of Qatari LNG major’s total production capacity) with the new and existing agreements between the two companies.With seven LNG trains, of which four are the largest in the world – each with a production capacity of 7.8mn tonnes per year (tpy), Qatargas has become the largest liquefied natural gas producing company in the world. Its annual LNG production capacity is now 42mn tpy. It has sold LNG in excess of a total of 7mn tpy on a term basis to Japan from all its ventures.