It is understood Gas Natural already buys LNG from Qatargas under two 2001 contracts. Both contracts will now be extended to 2012 as part of the deal. The main agreement, however, is the result of a January 2004 MOU which would see Qatari LNG being shipped to Spain from 2005 onwards.

In a statement Gas Natural said, “The gas could arrive at any one of three existing LNG terminals in Barcelona, Cartagena, and Huelva, or eventually at a new terminal being built by Regasnosa at El Ferrol in Galicia.”

“The terminals have regassification capacity and sufficient capacity to handle additional shipments of LNG from Qatar,” added the company without elaborating further.

The LNG will be sourced from Qatargas’ North Field, which has estimated recoverable reserves of 25.2 trillion cubic metres of natural gas.