Qatargas, BOTAS sign new three-year LNG agreement

The world's biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer, Qatar's Qatargas, and Turkey's Petroleum Pipeline Corporation company BOTAS have signed a medium-term sales and purchase agreement, Qatargas announced on Wednesday.

Qatargas said it would deliver 1.5 million tonnes of LNG per annum for three years to Turkey under the terms of the agreement.

"We are very pleased to announce this new agreement with BOTAS which will further strengthen our relationship with our friends in Turkey," Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, president and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, said.

Kaabi added that as the LNG market continued to evolve, Qatar's ability to capture new opportunities was again evident in this latest deal.

"This deal reflects the deep confidence of our customers around the world in our capabilities as a reliable supplier of LNG to satisfy their requirements," he said.

Khalid Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, CEO of Qatargas said that Qatargas was "delighted to announce this multi-year deal with BOTAS -- a valued customer with deep expertise in the LNG industry. Our relationship with BOTAS has evolved from supplying spot cargoes to the current medium-term deal and we look forward to providing BOTAS with reliable, clean energy for many years to come."

The LNG will be delivered onboard Q-Flex vessels to either the Egegaz LNG terminal, the Marmara LNG terminal, or to the Etki LNG terminal in Turkey.

BOTAS and Qatar's national oil company signed a memorandum of understanding for long-term LNG trade in December 2015.

Turkey's total LNG consumption is 55 billion cubic meters, of which most is imported from Qatar with imports also from Algeria and Nigeria.