Affiliates of QatarEnergy and Italian firm Eni have signed a long-term deal for supply of liquefied natural gas from Qatar to Italy, the Gulf stateEs energy company announced on Monday.
As part of the agreement, LNG will be delivered to FSRU Italia, a floating storage and regasification unit in Italy's Tuscany region, QatarEnergy said in a press release.
The sale and purchase agreement will cover the supply of up to 1 million tons per annum of LNG.
LNG deliveries are expected to start in 2026 for a term of 27 years and will be sourced from the joint venture between QatarEnergy and Eni, which holds an interest in Qatar's North Field East expansion project.
Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Qatari energy minister, and Claudio Descalzi, the CEO of Eni, signed the agreement during a special event held in Doha in the presence of senior executives from both companies.
Commenting on the occasion, Al-Kaabi said that they are taking another important step in strengthening their partnership with Eni that will foster their mutual cooperation.
'Our partnership with Eni has borne fruitful results including LNG deliveries through the Fluxys LNG terminal in Belgium's Zeebrugge port and upstream exploration projects in various locations around the world.
'This agreement further builds on Eni's first entry in the upstream sector in the State of Qatar through our partnership in the historic North Field East expansion project,' he further said.
'Together, we will continue to demonstrate commitment to the European markets in general, and to the Italian market in particular. Since 2009, Qatari LNG has been arriving at the Adriatic LNG terminal in the northern Adriatic to meet more than 10% of Italy's natural gas requirements,' Al-Kaabi added.
Eni, with a 3.125% share, is a North Field East expansion project partner with 32 million tons per annum.
By Basak Erkalan
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr