OREANDA-NEWS. E.ON and Qatargas today signed a medium-term contract for the supply of LNG (Liquefied Natual Gas) from Qatar to the GATE Regasification Terminal in Rotterdam. The contract, which is priced on a continental gas hub basis, will run for a period of five years and has the potential to supply up to 10 bcm over its term. Supplies start in 2014. Speaking at a ceremony in Doha, Christopher Delbruck, CEO of E.ON Global Commodities SE, 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 the State of Qatar.” Richard Baylis, Director of LNG, E.ON Global Commodities SE, 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 utilizes 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.”

E.ON regards Qatar as a priority country in the expansion of the company's LNG business model, including short and long-term supply agreements. It possesses the world's third-largest gas reserves and has, by developing an impressive infrastructure for exporting LNG, established itself as leader on the global LNG market. In 2009, E.ON opened an office in Doha, Qatar, in addition to its Middle East office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The agreement with Qatargas is the second important long-term contract signed by E.ON in the last few weeks. The company announced in September that it had completed a 25-year deal to bring 40 bcm of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field to Europe.

E.ON Global Commodities is the energy trading business of E.ON, one of the world's largest investor-owned power and gas companies. As the commercial hub for E.ON to the international wholesale markets, it sources, stores, transports, markets and trades energy commodities on a global scale. The company also owns and operates a pipeline infrastructure business, which supports gas supply and trading activities, and an unbundled gas storage business.