British Gas owner Centrica is to spend £4.4billion buying gas from Qatar to shore up the UK’s energy supply.
The deal will see the energy giant importing around 13% of the UK’s gas supply – 3million tonnes of liquefied natural gas – from the Middle East kingdom over the next four years.
It extends the previous deal, which expires next June, with Qatargas for around 2.4million tonnes a year.
“It is vital that the UK has a diverse range of sources of supply to meet its energy requirements,” said Centrica chief executive Sam Laidlaw.
“In a competitive international market, contracts like this underpin the UK’s access to global LNG supplies for the benefit of customers.”
News of the deal comes amid the ongoing political row over increased energy prices from UK suppliers, with Ofgem having warned utilities firms it will monitor their activities in the wake of the higher tariffs.
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