Qatar has agreed to provide Italian agency Eni with pure fuel for 27 years, the Gulf emirate’s state-owned power firm introduced Monday. The deal comes after related contracts with France and the UK.
Doha will provide a million tonnes of fuel a yr beneath the deal, QatarEnergy stated, following an settlement with Eni for a share of Qatar’s big North Field fuel growth undertaking.
In the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine final yr, European nations have rushed to interchange misplaced deliveries of pure fuel from Russia.
“Today, we are taking another important step in strengthening our partnership with Eni that will foster our mutual cooperation for many years to come,” Qatari Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi stated in a press launch.
“Together, we will continue to demonstrate commitment to the European markets in general, and to the Italian market in particular,” he added.
In June final yr Eni agreed a cope with QatarEnergy for a 3.1 p.c share in Qatar’s North Field East undertaking, the primary section of the Gulf emirate’s growth into the most important fuel subject on the planet, which extends into Iranian territory.
Deliveries of liquified pure fuel (LNG) to Italy’s Tuscany area are anticipated to start in 2026.
In an announcement, Rome-headquartered Eni stated the deal “strengthens” its partnership with QatarEnergy, including involvement in North Field East was “in line with Eni’s transition strategy, which aims to progressively increase the role of gas”.
Other European offers
The cope with Eni follows a fast succession of traditionally lengthy agreements with European corporations for fuel provide from Qatar.
Last week, Qatar introduced a deal for 27 years with Britain’s Shell and earlier within the month, France’s Total introduced one other deal of equal size.
Qatar indicators 27-year fuel provide cope with France’s Total: state power agency
Under its North Field growth, Qatar is ready to boost its LNG output by 60 p.c or extra to 126 million tonnes a yr by 2027.
The major marketplace for Qatari fuel has historically been Asia, led by international locations like China, Japan and South Korea.
The offers with Eni, Shell and Total are the identical size as these agreed by the China National Petroleum Corporation in June and China’s Sinopec in 2022. All have set a benchmark because the longest within the LNG business.
US giants ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil have additionally signed offers to companion within the growth.
Qatar is among the world’s prime LNG producers, alongside the United States, Australia and Russia.
QatarEnergy estimates the North Field holds about 10 p.c of the world’s identified pure fuel reserves.
Substitutes for Russian fuel
Serious discussions to seek out substitutes for Russian fuel began on the eve of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in February 2022.
Then, the specter of disruptions to Europe’s fuel provide from Russia as a possible results of western sanctions prompted a debate in regards to the want for long-term LNG contracts.
In the start of 2022, The United States already requested Qatar and different main fuel producers whether or not they might ship additional fuel to Europe in case Russian flows have been disrupted.
(With newswires)
Originally revealed on RFI