Paris-based Total said on Monday that it would acquire an additional 16.7% stake in a second phase of the Qatargas 2 project for US$1bn.

Total will also buy up to 5.2 million tonnes of LNG per year from Qatargas 2 for a period of 25 years to onsell to customers in France, Britain and the US from 2008.

Total previously held a 10% stake in Qatargas and was one of the company’s founding partners.

Total chief executive Thierry Desmarest said the Qatar venture was an important step in expanding Total's LNG portfolio. Shipping LNG to Atlantic markets was a growing business in an area where gas had traditionally been delivered by pipelines.

In separate deals, Exxon Mobil recently took a 30% stake in Qatargas 2, and will send 15.6 million tonnes of LNG to Britain over 25 years starting from 2007, while Qatar Petroleum signed a US$6 billion contract with Royal Dutch Shell Group in a deal that will bring 7.8 million tonnes of LNG to United States and European markets from 2010.

Qatar has 10% of the world's known gas reserves and these investments are set to convert Qatar into the world's largest LNG exporter from about 2010.