Qatargas 4 and E.ON Global Commodities, the energy trading business of E.ON, one of the world’s largest investor-owned power and gas companies, yesterday signed a “flexible SPA” for five years, starting from 2014 and covering a volume of approximately 1.5mn tonnes of LNG a year.
The LNG will come from Qatargas 4 (Train 7), a joint venture between Qatar Petroleum and Shell, and will be delivered on-board Q-Max LNG vessels to the Gate LNG Terminal in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
HE the Minister of Energy and Industry Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada, also Qatargas chairman, signed the SPA at the Four Seasons in Doha on behalf of Qatargas 4, while Christopher Delbrück, CEO of E.ON Global Commodities, and Richard Baylis, director (LNG) signed on behalf of E.ON.
Klaus Schäfer, E.ON chief financial officer, also took part in the ceremony.
Al-Sada described the SPA as “another milestone in Qatar’s supply of clean energy to the world”.
He said: “We are very pleased with this agreement as it marks the beginning of a relationship between Qatargas, the largest LNG producing company in the world, and E.ON SE, one of the world’s largest investor-owned power and gas companies.”
Qatargas chief executive officer, Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa al-Thani said: “The signing of this agreement represents a significant step for Qatargas in the development of its global strategy. We are delighted to have E.ON Global Commodities as a partner.
“Qatargas continues to be committed to building strong relationships with its customers based on trust, reliability, flexibility and operational excellence.”
Delbrück said: “This contract represents a significant step in the development of our global growth strategy and is a major achievement in forging a long-term partnership with Qatar.”
Baylis said: “I am very pleased that we have been able to conclude this agreement with Qatargas. It is the culmination of a lot of effort from both companies over a number of years to find a suitable agreement in a rapidly changing LNG marketplace. The deal works well because it utilises our existing regasification position and provides Qatargas with access to arguably the most diverse European end user portfolio and, as a result, a new commercial home for their volumes.”
Roper said: “This agreement shows our commitment to developing our presence in one of the world’s most important energy-focused regions. EON has been engaged with Qatargas for many years and we have developed a sound working relationship. It is through both company’s openness in discussion that we have been able to find a formula for the delivery of Qatari LNG into the EON gas portfolio that will provide flexibility and materiality for both companies.”
Qatargas delivered its first LNG cargo to The Gate receiving terminal in Rotterdam in July of this year under a master sales and purchase agreement (MSPA) signed between the two companies in 2011.