OREANDA-NEWS.  Kuwait's state oil group said it signed a six-year liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply deal with Royal Dutch Shell, worth an estimated USD 12 billion, as the major oil exporter seeks to meet energy demands for the hot summer months. The deal between Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) and Shell was reported last month in a Kuwaiti newspaper but with no financial details.

KPC also plans to sign a USD 3 billion deal LNG supply deal with BP on Monday, said Nasser al-Mudaf, head of KPC's international marketing division. He did not provide the volume of the super-cooled gas that would be supplied by the companies. A Shell spokesman said he could not comment on details of commercial agreements.

Kuwait wants to burn LNG instead of resorting to diesel and crude oil, which have higher harmful emissions, KPC said in a statement announcing the Shell deal.

Kuwait began importing LNG in 2009 and signed deals with Shell and Swiss-based trader Vitol to supply it from April to October, the period of peak power demand, for the last four years.

Surging air conditioning demand in the scorching Middle Eastern summer and a lack of domestic supply mean Kuwait needs to import more gas each year to feed its power plants. Kuwait signed an LNG deal with fellow Gulf state Qatar last month.